ORLANDO, Fla. – After hitting 99 degrees at the Orlando International Airport for two consecutive days, more excessive heat is on the horizon.
Most of Central Florida is under an excessive heat watch for Thursday. The National Weather Service issues alerts these when the heat index could soar to 113 degrees or higher.
This will likely be upgraded to an excessive heat warning sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday. The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued its first ever excessive heat warning for Central Florida earlier Wednesday.
That type of warning was created in 2007.
Actual air temperatures will once again flirt with 100 degrees Thursday afternoon. The heat index will soar to 110-115 degrees.
Storm chances once again remain on the lower side, with the highest chance for storms around and especially east of Orlando.
High temperatures on the level we have been seeing over the past few days look to remain in place through at least the weekend.
On Wednesday, several places in Central Florida reached record-high temperatures for this date:
- In Orlando, it reached 99 degrees. The record is 99 degrees in 1987.
- In Sanford, it reached 99 degrees. The record is 99 degrees in 1987.
- In Daytona Beach, it reached 98 degrees, beating out the previous record of 96 degrees set in 2019.
- In Melbourne, it reached 94 degrees, just shy of the 98-degree record made in 1980.
The extended heat wave will likely keep its grip on Florida through through the middle of August.
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