Orlando weather: Morning showers will fade to a sunny afternoon

ORLANDO, Fla. - TODAY: 

Morning showers and mugginess will give way to increasing sunshine and slightly lower humidity this afternoon. 

A few light showers will be possible through the afternoon, but there's only a 20% chance. 

As the skies clear, temperatures will heat up this afternoon. Plan for high temperatures into the mid 80s.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

Drier weather continues Friday with temperatures staying on the warmer side. Highs will climb back into the mid 80s for Friday as well as into the weekend. 

A disturbance east of the Bahamas and north of Hispaniola will help to increase moisture across south Florida. 

Some of this could reach Central Florida and bring with it the return of scattered showers.

TROPICS: 

Hurricane Rafael continues to head towards the northwest as a category 2 storm. It will steadily make a more due west turn as we head into Friday and the weekend. 

The storm will move into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it will encounter hostile upper level winds and cooler ocean temperatures. 

This will cause Rafael to weaken down to a tropical storm near the western Gulf. Landfall looks to take place near the Bay of Campeche on the coastline of Mexico.