Orlando, Florida -
Our weekend weather across Central Florida was glorious for most, with highs in the 70s and low 80s and only a few passing showers near and east of the St. Johns River. Looking ahead to this week, our warming trend continues as high temperatures reach the low-mid 80s for most Monday through Wednesday (cool Atlantic Ocean temperatures will moderate highs near the coast). Our normal high temperatures during this stretch of December are in the low-mid 70s, so at least for the first half of the week, we'll be above normal. Late-week clouds and rain potential may keep our highs from Thursday in the 70s. No significant cold fronts are forecast to pass through Central Florida through Saturday, so our week ahead will be warmer than normal.
December is generally a dry month in Central Florida. The bulk of our rainfall comes near and along cold fronts. While we have a slight risk of a passing shower on Monday and Tuesday, any accumulations would be very small. However, on Wednesday a cold front is forecast to stall just north of us, remaining in place through Friday or Saturday. This front will enhance atmospheric lift, giving us more clouds and higher-than-normal rain chances. Computer forecast models are all across the board with our rain totals; some as low as 1/4" from Wednesday through Saturday, others with widespread 1"-2"+. Umbrellas will likely be useful from Wednesday.
With our warm, humid conditions returning this week across Central Florida, dense fog will create limited visibilities, especially in the overnight and early morning hours. Please use caution when driving in our seasonal foggy conditions.
Finally, though Christmas is about two weeks away, our GFS model is forecasting a warm lead-up to December 25th. The above image shows partly cloudy skies and 1pm temperatures in Central Florida in the mid-upper 70s two days before Christmas. Orlando's normal high temperature on Christmas Day is 72 degrees. However, in 1983, our high temperature was only 33 degrees, and only 6 years later our Christmas Day high temperature was 49 degrees.