Accurate Orlando weather source??

[PSULion]

Is there such a thing?!? The few apps I've been checking have drastically different forecasts (up to 10 degrees difference in high temp). It's making packing very tough!

Any input on a reliable local source?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

There is no such thing as a reliable 10 day forecast - anything past 48 hours is a guess.

For my trip in January I used 2 weather apps on my android phone and the iPhone app on my wife's. They all disagreed past 48 hours, and none was more reliable than another. We ended up packing for 3 different vacations, and wore clothes from all three sets on different days as the weather changed. It was a pain, but we drove down so the extra bags were not a problem.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

There is no such thing as a reliable 10 day forecast - anything past 48 hours is a guess.

Exactly! Especially at this time of year.

Try the local stations... WESH, MyFoxOrlando, WFTV

Considering the Midwest & Northeast are expecting another "polar vortex", I would expect FL temps to be lower as well, at least for the next week but it's a total guess

 

[AmyB2006]

Weatherbug, IMO, is a good app. You will never find that all of the weather forecasts agree. It just isn't going to happen.

 

[delmar411]

Pack layers and warm clothes. Even if the degrees look warm to you, the wind can be very biting. The temps are all over the place. Today it will be in the 70s but tomorrow it will literally be freezing.

 

[Brian Noble]

There is no such thing as a reliable 10 day forecast - anything past 48 hours is a guess.

Especially in the winter. We normally go in late February, and I don't count on much past 24 hours in advance.

 

[ucfknight]

Trust the government.... the National Weather Service (www.weather.gov) tends to be the most accurate in my experience. They only offer 7 day forecasts, but like others say a 10+ day forecast is usually about as accurate as a random number generator would be.

Here is the link to the point level forecast for the Magic Kingdom:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=28.41050191740378&lon=-81.5809965133667#.Ut51yRAo7RY

 

[Random Ninja]

I live just a couple hours north of orlando and don't trust the afternoon forecast from the morning news. The best weather forecasts I've seen is are from wunderground and even they can be off. FL weather is just so weird.

As for packing, bring layers. Shorts, winter boots, and hoodies are considered normal attire in winter. Better to have too many clothes that you can take off and shove in a backpack, then not enough and freeze (or pay Disney prices).

 

[DisneyDetective]

i use weatherpro app for my ipad.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Is there such a thing?!? The few apps I've been checking have drastically different forecasts (up to 10 degrees difference in high temp). It's making packing very tough!

Any input on a reliable local source?

Pack and dress for layers, regardless of what the forecast says. The temps will vary more than 10 degrees from morning to night, day to day and week to week. bring sweaters/sweatshirts, jeans, shorts, short sleeves, long sleeves, gloves, etc.

Don't try to guess the weather or listen to someone else who does, be prepared for what the weather is, not someone says it will be.

All the pics below in my sig were taken last week. One, I am wearing a t-shirt, a thermal and a sweatshirt. One, I am wearing a lightweight tech tee (long sleeve). And one I am wearing a t-shirt under a long sleeve tee. I went swimming three days and spend two days wearing gloves until around noon.

 

[MsThumper]

Exactly! Especially at this time of year.

Try the local stations... WESH, MyFoxOrlando, WFTV

Considering the Midwest & Northeast are expecting another "polar vortex", I would expect FL temps to be lower as well, at least for the next week but it's a total guess

This.

 

[summermac]

For our trip, I am packing the following cold weather clothes for each person:

2 pairs of jeans
under armour cold gear (2 if we have it)
fleece jackets
two pairs of light gloves per person (cause you can guarantee we are all losing one pair)
lightweight hat
hoodie
And some of that we will actually have ON at the airport

This is in addition to our regular clothes I am packing. I figure most of the above can be reworn if necessary (and may only be worn a few hours at a time) so I am okay with wearing "dirty" clothes a couple of times.

 

[Spoonces]

Is there such a thing?!? The few apps I've been checking have drastically different forecasts (up to 10 degrees difference in high temp). It's making packing very tough!

Any input on a reliable local source?

The problem is that the weather can vary drastically just within Orlando. For example, at this moment the forecast from Weather channel says that it is cloudy, windy and cool for my area. I am about 20 Minutes East of WDW by the airport. I walked outside, there are a few distant clouds but otherwise it is quite pleasant and comfortable, a perfect day but my weather app has a picture of some guy under an umbrella looking like a hurricane is coming.

You will often hear the joke for anywhere that if you don't like the weather, wait a minute. Unless you are from Central Florida, you truly have no idea how true that is. You simply cannot predict the weather on a peninsula.

 

[Lynne M]

After many years of packing for FL trips, to WDW and visiting friends, I don't even look at a weather forecast. I pack for climate, not for a forecast.

In other words, if I'm going in June, I assume a) very hot weather and b) a chance of rain at any time on any given day. Does it really matter whether it's 80 or 95? or whether it's raining on Tuesday? No, I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt either way. So that's what I bring. I bring both sandals and sneakers; I might want closed shoes if it's really rainy.

For winter in FL, you get temperatures that can vary widely from day to day, and even from morning till night. So, you bring a little of everything. Some shorts, some long pants, some short sleeved shirts, some long sleeved shirts. Definitely a jacket. Might not hurt to throw in a lightweight pair of gloves.

 

[PSULion]

Yeah... I know it's wishful thinking. We've done some winter trips with drastically different weather, (Dec 2010 was brrrrrrrrr) so we're used to layers and whatnot.

It seems that up here in DE the local stations get it right slightly more than the national ones... Just wondered what some news outlets were down there. I'll check the few listed above.

 

[Michelle1125]

I like MyFoxOrlando.com. I have WeatherBug, but I prefer the local forecasts.

 

[mrsdaly]

PSULion - whereabouts in Delaware? We live in New Castle and are flying out of the Wilmington airport here next Monday, Jan 27. Looking forward to the short drive down the street to hop on a plane!

 

[Kay1]

After many years of packing for FL trips, to WDW and visiting friends, I don't even look at a weather forecast. I pack for climate, not for a forecast.

In other words, if I'm going in June, I assume a) very hot weather and b) a chance of rain at any time on any given day. Does it really matter whether it's 80 or 95? or whether it's raining on Tuesday? No, I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt either way. So that's what I bring. I bring both sandals and sneakers; I might want closed shoes if it's really rainy.

For winter in FL, you get temperatures that can vary widely from day to day, and even from morning till night. So, you bring a little of everything. Some shorts, some long pants, some short sleeved shirts, some long sleeved shirts. Definitely a jacket. Might not hurt to throw in a lightweight pair of gloves.

Perfect advice. In the spring and fall the forecasts are more useful. Last year we were all the way down in the Keys at the end of March and the highs were only around 60, which means we spent most of the days and nights in the 40s and 50s.

We knew that but still didn't pack right. It's just different when you spend most of your time outdoors, kind of like Disney.

Best of luck with the weather, OP.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We'll be down there tomorrow (already packed) for 9 days. I've packed everything from shorts/ t-shirts/ bathing suits to jackets, gloves and jeans. We'll layer (it will no matter what the exact temperature is be fairly cold in the morning and warmer later in the day).

Our advantage is we drive (10 hours) so I can pack a ton of stuff and we drive to the parks so we can layer/ delayer as we park hop.