Rain Likelihood in Central Florida Increases Leading Up to Labor Day

ORLANDO, Fla. – As of Sunday morning, our next storm system is nearly set up over our viewing area.

A front is draped west to east over northern Florida and is likely to sink a bit further south. This is what’s going to help instigate even greater showers and thunderstorms as we roll through this afternoon and especially tomorrow.

Moisture continues to push across our area out of the north and west, all thanks to a trough stuck up against the eastern side of the country. This has been funneling all kinds of stuff southward, just in time for the three-day weekend.

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]

The next batch of energy in the upper levels has trickled far enough south to really play a role on today’s weather and into the first couple days of September. Rain chances are much higher for many of us, especially after yesterday mostly our northern and eastern counties saw some isolated clusters of showers.

As you wake up this morning, things should be pretty calm and clear for the most part. Some clouds are expected because of the extra moisture to play around with up in the air.

We already have some organized storms well off our west coast, which should stick around toward the west until the afternoon when they’ll more freely push inland. The same west to east track is forecast.

Since the front over us is mainly stationary, you usually see opposing wind flow on either side of its position. North of the front you’ll see winds coming slightly out of the north, and the opposite on the south side. As showers begin to form around 1 to 2 p.m. this afternoon, they’ll start out moving fairly slow.

It won’t be until they gain some momentum later into the mid-afternoon hours when you’ll start to see these areas of rain and thunder start to pick up a little speed. Models are sort of split in their interpretation of what this afternoon could look like.

The majority of our Four Corners counties will likely see some rain today, and maybe even some thunder and lightning as the day progresses closer to the early evening. The sea breeze from the east coast may not play as much of a role this afternoon given the different dynamics at work.

If you plan on hitting the attractions today, it might be best to get out there as early as you can to make the most of the first half of the day. The second half could get a little dicey, especially for my Horror Nights fans trying to make it out within the first couple opening nights.

The beaches will be somewhat unfavorable and choppy. While the rains are less likely this afternoon, the winds coming in out of the north are going to up our surf, resulting in a moderate rip current risk for each of our Atlantic coast beaches. So be safe out there if you intend on getting in the water.

As we go from today into the first of September and then on in, our rain chances will remain elevated until maybe Thursday toward Friday of next weekend. The system draped across the southeast will start to work its way northeast and start to dissolve at the same time.

This also means our temperatures will rebound slowly but surely, too.