Severe thunderstorms return to Central Florida. Here’s what to expect

ORLANDO, Fla. – The last couple of months have been a roller coaster in every sense of the analogy when it comes to the weather in Florida.

March brought with it weekend after weekend of strong thunderstorms, and even a few destructive tornadoes.

April turned the tides almost entirely, drying our state out while also increasing the risks of brush fires at a steady rate.

I suppose it seems fitting that Mother Nature decided to throw yet another wrench in the repetitions we’ve been building over the back end of April.

Now, the threat for powerful thunderstorms is in the forecast for some of us in the Central Florida peninsula.

Our next storm system has finally put a large dent in the dominant ridging that has been in place during the latter half of April. That same ridge was responsible for putting us into excessive drought conditions — and likely browning over a majority of our lawns.

Looking at the satellite, you can see the extension of a trough and cold front down at the surface headed our way. This has already created a plethora of powerful storms to include confirmed tornadoes in its wake.

Now, in our local area, we aren’t expecting a widespread instance of powerful storms or a bunch of tornadoes. So take a sigh of relief!

But, since this will help instigate a resurgence in our afternoon sea breeze, some spots in Marion, Sumter and Lake, and then along the east coast from Flagler down to Brevard counties may want to watch for fast, rogue spinups.

We’ll likely start to see rains settling in first thing Sunday morning for our western counties. Then, throughout the warmest portions of the afternoon, the front, combined with daytime heating, should keep lingering showers and storms across a majority of us.

Around sunset as the cold front approaches our eastern shoreline, some strong storms are possible for Flagler, Volusia, and especially Brevard counties.

Stay tuned for more as we breakdown all the latest data and get you geared up to tackle a return to heavy rains and lightning in your neighborhood.