Orlando AM Weather Forecast: Rainy Labor Day weekend

And I think I've said this a hundred times on the show before, but truly lightning is one of the few things in weather where we can't see it coming. We can know when there's a thunderstorm, so it's really one of the only things about weather that kind of scares me. There's not much, but we cannot predict exactly where it's going to hit. And part of the reason is it could be completely just clear. You're just out for a while. Do you know what I mean? Absolutely. And it can change very suddenly. And it can be sunny. And if you have a storm within 10 miles, it can hit. It's an important piece of advice, but it's also hard to follow because just about every afternoon in the summer, after 2 o'clock, you're going to hear thunder. So how do you function? If you have to pick up your kids from school, if you have to go to the grocery store, if you have to walk from your work to your car, life is a chance and you just have to hope that your chances don't come up. But obviously, if there's a storm overhead or really nearby or it sounds really angry, you know, use your instinct. Absolutely. Don't risk it. Let's get to it. I mean, you know, statistically, hopping on I-4 is going to be pretty dangerous as well, but you just have to use your head. Daytona Beach, a live view. We've got mostly clear skies over the beach, but out to sea, occasional flashes of lightning, a live view from the Hard Rock Hotel camp, waves rolling in, and a moderate risk for rip currents today. Here's a live view of our Fox 35 StormTracker radar. I've highlighted the lightning bolts just to show you that we do have some storms offshore. If you're out driving around, you may on the horizon notice some towering clouds illuminated with those occasional flashes, but there's nothing over land now. And for the morning, it looks like we'll remain on the dry side, unlike yesterday, because our flow, instead of coming in from the east, is coming in from the south. But that'll have implications, not just on the timing of when the storms pop up, but how many pop up and how they may affect our evening plans. It's Friday night, so a lot of high schools have their football games tonight, and it looks like we've got a pretty decent chance, at least for the first half of those games, for some storms in the region. So at 3 o'clock, we'll see the first storms pop up, probably north of Orlando, and overall, the rain chance, as often is the case, goes up as we head toward the evening. So by 5, 6 o'clock, the heat of the day, we'll see scattered storms around. Lightning will be the primary threat from these storms. One or two could become strong with damaging wind gusts. It looks like the highest chance for rain happens between about 6 and 8 p.m. 75 degrees right now in Orlando, 78 in Leesburg. So here's the forecast. The game of the week is East Ridge versus Lake Maniola, and we've got a 70% chance for rain at kickoff. Hopefully those chances go down. It's just going to be a strong possibility today. Crossing figures, nobody has delays, but obviously if there's lightning about, they've got to take precautions. 93 in Claremont today, 92 in Titusville, 89 degrees, Daytona Beach, temperatures a degree or two warmer than normal, and that'll be the theme as we head through this Labor Day weekend with a 60% chance likely for tomorrow and Sunday, and on Monday, a 70% chance for rain for Labor Day itself. Well, some good news in the tropical Atlantic. As we approach the peak of the hurricane season, no tropical activity expected over the next seven days. This very, very unusual for this time of the year, and attributed to the fact that we've got this really strong El Nino in the Pacific creating wind shear in the Atlantic, tearing systems apart before they can form. But don't let your guard down. In this kind of a setup, we'll have to watch the Gulf, the Western Caribbean, and the nearshore Atlantic waters of Florida as we head toward the end of this month for potential development. Yes, that would be development in our own backyard, which usually results in lower lead times on when it forms to when it's going to impact you. So as always, it only takes one to make a bad hurricane season, even during the quietest one, and we're going to have to keep our guard up this year. 70% chance of rain for today. Looking ahead, overall active rain chances and temperatures at least near normal for this time of the year. All right. It's time for Snap the Sun this morning. Let's get a look outside at this beauty. This is from Mike in Mount Dora, that sun rising, and you can see it illuminating the underside of those mid-level clouds. Those are called altocumulus clouds. And oftentimes in the morning when you see those, it's a sign of thunderstorms during the afternoon on the way.