ORLANDO, Fla. – We have possible RECORD-SETTING temps coming in Monday afternoon across Central Florida.
We’re also finally going to get a bit of an increase in our overall moisture, courtesy of the storm system that caused havoc for millions over the central U.S.
Sunday we did a bit of a breakdown on what the storm chances are for your Monday, but now we’ll get fully into the weeds as we count down to what could be a bit of a sporty evening for some of us.
We’ve also designated your Monday night as a Weather Alert evening. Here’s all the details!
Timing still appears to be right on target. We’re pinpointing an arrival of the worst conditions around 8-9 p.m. If you’re up in Alachua, Marion or Putnam counties, and you happen to be out around sunset you’ll probably start to see some lightning strikes and a pick up in winds around you at this hour.
Winds and heavier rainfall will be the greatest risks we face this evening into the very early morning hours of Tuesday. We’ve got a good pocket of drier air around 5,000-8,000 feet above where we are at ground level.
Dry air is much heavier in comparison to warm, moist air. What this does to our thunderstorms is create mass that comes down alongside the rains we can feel at the surface. This is why when storms blow through your area, you often see winds pick up and the air suddenly cool down as it does so.
On top of the high wind threat within these thunderstorm clusters, we could receive a bit of small hail. That same dry air helps with freezing up water droplets as they rise within the storms updraft.
Lastly, because of all this wind we’re highlighting, we can’t rule out the potential for nocturnal funnel clouds or, dare I say, an isolated tornado. We’ve had a few rogue tornado warnings go off in the panhandle of Florida earlier this morning as the system has started to make its final approach.
In fact, peak “tornado hours” (yes that’s a thing) are often in the morning or in the evening time frame.
From about 8-9 p.m. with the onset of our stronger showers and storms, we’re looking at about four-to-six hours worth of time spent where these features could try to go severe. Reason being, we only have a limited window to tap into available leftover heat and energy left behind by the daytime hours.
Naturally the more the land begins to cool after sunset, the more the atmosphere becomes a lot more stable.
For those of you reading in Marion, Sumter, Lake, Flagler and even Volusia county, you’ll want to make sure your phones are NOT on do not disturb mode, charged, and ready to receive any alerts the National Weather Service may put out.
This is only a precaution! It doesn’t mean we’re all going to see nasty weather, let alone the worst this cold front has to offer. But we want everyone to be safe and head into a pleasant rest of the week together.
By about midnight toward 2 a.m., the line will be moving into Central Florida closer to the Orlando Metro area. At this point, we’ll be seeing a lot more general showers and rain with a much lower risk anything hectic pops off.
Finally, as we approach sunrise, the front is likely to lose a bit of its momentum and sort of get “hung up” over the bottom portions of the Florida peninsula. We could see some lingering showers and isolated thunderstorms through the second half of Tuesday because of that leftover energy and trigger.
The key time frame you need to keep in your back pocket is Monday night around 8 p.m.
I know a lot of us are still out and about at that time, so be aware of your surroundings, and also be mindful of wet roadways.
