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Brace for a stormy evening across Central Florida with widespread showers and thunderstorms.
By Saturday evening, strong and isolated severe storms will sweep in, but this won't deter the heat and humidity.
Temperatures will still feel like 100+ degrees over the next seven days, FOX 35's Laurel Blanchard reported.
When will the thunderstorms happen?
Widespread thunderstorms are predicted to occur between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
What areas will be mostly affected?
A few strong to isolated severe storms are possible tonight – mainly along I-4 from Orlando to Daytona. Areas in central Lake County and Osceola County will also be affected.
What are the main threats?
- Gusty winds up to 50 mph
- Torrential rain
- Vivid lightning
- The chance of small hail
How much rain will occur?
Areas near Orlando, Kissimmee up to Sanford and central Volusia County could see anywhere from 0.5" to over 2 inches of rain, depending on if you get caught in a thunderstorm or stronger storms.
Outlook for the remainder of the weekend
The rain coverage will focus more in the Tampa and I-75 region outside our viewing area on Sunday. Most of the Orlando area should end up on the dry side.
Looking to next week
A wave of energy will cross over Florida, causing widespread downpours and storms moving in a southwesterly direction – a change from recent weeks. Several storms, especially Tuesday evening, may turn severe because of pockets of damaging winds or hail.
Remember, 60+ mph wind gusts and/or quarter-size hail are what make a storm severe.
Plans for July 4?
A massive "heat dome" will set up over the eastern U.S. making it much hotter north of FL than here around Orlando.
The heat index values 108+ as far north as Detroit, around Washington, and back towards Memphis if you are traveling. For central Florida, this means a strong east to west flow, effectively lowering our PM coverage of rain and storms by the end of next week.
Update on the tropics
An area of low pressure looks to form over the next week, on the tail end of a frontal system.
This front looks to stall out across the southeast, keeping things unsettled as a whole. This area of low pressure does look to remain weak as it works west toward the southeast coast throughout the week.
Though it's still too early to pin down the direct impacts – especially as the tropical moisture we are watching moves in across Florida – it will mean a lot of rain for us either way.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from reporting by FOX 35's Laurel Blanchard.