ORLANDO, Fla. – As we celebrate the Fourth of July, all of Central Florida will be dealing with dangerous heat and scattered storms through Thursday afternoon and into the early evening hours.
TEMPERATURES
Highs for Independence Day will remain much hotter than normal, with temperatures climbing into the mid- to upper 90s inland and the low 90s along the coast.
Orlando, Sanford and Leesburg will be a few degrees shy of records at 97-99 degrees.
The combination of near record heat and seasonably high humidity numbers will put the heat index at 110 degrees for several hours. A heat advisory is in effect for all of Central Florida from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you are planning on spending time outdoors to celebrate, make sure you stay hydrated and take cooling breaks. Meteorologist Samara Cokinos reminds us that staying hydrated is more than just drinking water. Click here to read more about it.
If your celebrations take you to the beaches, red flags will be flying as a high risk of rip currents remains a concern.
Many rescues have been made this week, with one rip current fatality near Daytona Beach on Wednesday. If you want to venture out into the water to beat the heat, make sure to swim near a lifeguard tower.
RAIN CHANCES
Along with dangerous heat, a few strong storms could threaten some late afternoon to early evening plans as sea breezes push inland.
The chance of rain this afternoon is expected to develop along I-95 and slowly track west. The coverage remains high at 60-70% inland and 30-40% chance along the coast.
FIREWORK FORECAST:
Showers and storms may linger a bit past sunset from Lake County south into western Osceola County before tapering off before 9 p.m. fireworks shows.
We might be biased, but the best firework show in town tonight will be the Fireworks at the Fountain in downtown Orlando, and the weather looks like it will cooperate!
If you want to enjoy the show from the comfort of your couch, you can always watch it on Clickorlando.com and on News6+.