How are the thunderstorms in August?

[abeyst]

I've never been to WDW in the summer, so I was curious. Are they an all day storm, or can you plan your park days around them like other months when they hit between 8 & 8:30?

 

[Bob P]

Hi Amy,

They are around most days, usually some time between 1:00 and 6:00, and they will last anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours.

 

[AprilLizbeth]

Usually summer thunderstorms are more like between 3-5pm. Usually they are not all day storms, but it does happen occasionally. I wouldnt try to plan anything around them though, just go with the flow. Bring or buy ponchos and enjoy less crowded walkways. This does not apply however if you have complete downpours in which case my suggestion is to go on a long indoor ride such as Ellens Energy Adventure or Great Movie Ride, or an indoor show like Hall of Presidents, Festival of the Lion King. Also a good choice at MGM would be One Man's Dream or the Animation Tour. Have a great trip!!

 

[Cupmom]

We always watch the sky and when one is rolling in it's time for a 3-D show or something else indoors. By the time it's over the rain has let up and the sun is back out.

 

[SLM]

There's really no way to plan around them-my daughter and her husband were there in August last year and I think she told us it didn't rain at all.

 

[floridaminnie]

then every once in awhile we get those darn hurricanes

 

[abeyst]

then every once in awhile we get those darn hurricanes

Shhhh! We don't want to talk about those and wake the Hurricane Gods!!

 

[Schmeck]

The T-storms in August seem much more fierce than the ones that we've experienced at WDW in May. We got caught under the bridge along the MGM-EPCOT walk two years ago. That was a monster of a storm! Lightning struck the tennis courts at the Boardwalk as we were walking by, and a plastic globe from the light fixtures on the bridge broke off and floated downstream...

 

[grinningghost]

Now, please remember, I am the WDW Rain Queen. I have terrible luck with thunderstorms at WDW - I never experience the quick showers that dry up in minutes and all that happy stuff.

So, with that in mind, our last WDW trip was in August, 2003. We got pounded by thunderstorms, long ones. The kind that really killed the whole day. It was virtually impossible to continue touring the parks without being a total drowned rat. But that's just ME. I don't know what a dry WDW trip is.

I bet you'll do much better.

 

[Harambe]

Now, please remember, I am the WDW Rain Queen.

Hey, just wait one darn minute . . . my husband is called the Rain King! Is there something you two want to tell me? LOL!

We had the thunder showers last August and the September before that. As others have said, they come and go in the late afternoon. I always look at it as a nice break, actually!

This year we are loading up on the 99cent ponchoes from CVS. They are see-thru so they will be allowed at Disney, and you can just throw them away when you're done with them each day. I found buying, storing and folding up those Disney pnchoes a drag - and at 6 or 7 bucks a piece, no bargain!

The storms never stopped us from going about the parks - have fun!

 

[grinningghost]

Hey, just wait one darn minute . . . my husband is called the Rain King! Is there something you two want to tell me? LOL!

We had the thunder showers last August and the September before that. As others have said, they come and go in the late afternoon. I always look at it as a nice break, actually!

This year we are loading up on the 99cent ponchoes from CVS. They are see-thru so they will be allowed at Disney, and you can just throw them away when you're done with them each day. I found buying, storing and folding up those Disney pnchoes a drag - and at 6 or 7 bucks a piece, no bargain!

The storms never stopped us from going about the parks - have fun!

I figure it this way. If he's King and I'm Queen, my DH must be the court jester.

 

[JRawkSteady]

dem's hurricane season. hold on to yer hats n glasses!

 

[goofy4tink]

In '03, mid-Aug, the thunderstorms were just simple incredible. On one particular Monday (if I remember correctly), the sky was fine at about 2:00 as we rode the monorail from the Polynesian to MK. By the time we got to the MK station, the sky was black, the lightening was horrendous, the rain was sideways. It was so dark, the streetlights came on!!! No one would leave the cover of the station. About 10 minutes later, the monorail shut down. Come to find out, a funnel cloud had been spotted over in the Epcot area (not Epcot itself, but the surrounding areas). We must have waited 40 minutes before finally saying...what the heck. With lightning flashing and thunder cracking, we made a run for the MK. Soaked rats...that's what we were. It rained for the rest of that night....but it sure did clear out the park!
The next day, we did the trail ride..mid-afternoon. I asked one of the CMs what the horses would do if one of those infamous t-storms cropped up. She said not to worry...the horses were very used to the storms. Besides, they had just checked the weather with the radar people and there were no storms on the horizon.....yeah, right. Almost immediatly after she said that, it started thundering, the rains started. Thank God there wasn't any of the previous days lightning!! But, by the time we got back to the stable, 20 minutes later, I was soaked to the bone...everywhere, right down to my underwear!!! They did actually refund us our money for the ride. That night it stopped after a few hours of rain.
Have to say....I have never seen thunder/lightening storms like I've seen in Orlando. They truly are an amazing thing to see. Be prepared every single day...bring a throw-away poncho everywhere you go. We have had it rain every day when we go in August. We won't even go into being there with Hurricane Charley...now, that was heat/humidity/rain!!!!

 

[DizGeek]

We go in August every year. The T-Storms have not hurt us a bit....Hurr. Francis closed the park for 2 days but thats a different story.

The thing about these storms, it'll be real hot all day, then the storm will come in and you'll think that it will cool down when its over....wrong! It actually gets hotter!

 

[TinkerTracy]

I am usuaully there the middle or end of august
and thunderstorms are short...but HEAVY.
They only last 15 minutes to an hour.
Go do some indoor activites and then do some outdoor rides when it stops or slows down (many many people leave).

 

[Cupmom]

Now, please remember, I am the WDW Rain Queen. I have terrible luck with thunderstorms at WDW - I never experience the quick showers that dry up in minutes and all that happy stuff.

So, with that in mind, our last WDW trip was in August, 2003. We got pounded by thunderstorms, long ones. The kind that really killed the whole day. It was virtually impossible to continue touring the parks without being a total drowned rat. But that's just ME. I don't know what a dry WDW trip is.

I bet you'll do much better.

You must have been in the park the day we checked into the WL in 2003. I think it was Aug 23rd. I never seen such a storm !!!

 

[phalynx]

In a word, short....

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Last August 18, we were @ WDW for 1 week and it only rained and ? thundered on the last day, as we were preparing to leave. We were leaving MGM studio about 1pm or so and then back to our hotel...POP, for lunch. I remember it pouring @ lunchtime ,but it was over by the time we were leaving an hour or so later. Like the other posters wrote...carry a cheap $$$ store poncho with you at ALL times and just "duck out of the way" for a while ...they really don't force you to leave the parks. Just wait them out in a counter service resturant or show! Don't worry too much about them .