Weather Woes

[Gwydion]

We leave for our first trip home on Tuesday and I just saw the forecast for the entire week is scattered T-storms. How bad is "Scattered T-Storms" in Orlando?
Does that mean a little bit of rain and then some sun, or will we spend the entire trip indoors? Our last trip to WDW was Christmas of 2001 when it was freezing rain the whole trip. I'm begining to think I'm cursed. Any experienced DVC'ers that could give me a heads-up on the rainy season and what to expect will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[JerJan]

As a former resident of Orlando...I will tell you that scattered thunderstorms are pretty much the norm all summer in Orlando. With the afternoon heating, thunderstorms develop, sometimes you get no rain, sometimes a little and sometimes a downpour! They usually only last maybe 1/2 hour and then the sun comes back out. The storms basicly "cool the air" in tropical and sub-tropical climates. Don't worry and have a GREAT trip Don't worry your not cursed!

 

[amandaC]

We are leaving on Friday! Can't wait.

We've been during the summer before. It seems to rain almost every day- but just really brief but torrential rain! We just put on our ponchos and go! Usually the mornings are sunny and the rain comes late afternoon, early evening. It really wasn't too bad.

Amanda

 

[MagikMom]

It usually rains everyday in the afternoon during the summer. My husband and I found a nice alternative to the ponchos. We bought 2 large umbrullas. We bring them to the parks with us when rain is expected. We didn't like the ponchos because they are sweaty, sticky and soggy.

 

[JimMIA]

The weather report you read IS the typical weather. It will be really ugly for an hour and the rest of the time it will just be hot and humid. Welcome to Florida!

If you use an umbrella, be sure it's a golf umbrella with a fiberglass shaft - not metal - and you may want to upgrade your insurance a little.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Trust me, you will thank God for those thunderstorms, because they break the humidity and make the evenings pleasant. On the days that it doesn't rain, you will be cursing those days because the heat and humidity become oppressive. DH and I looked forward to those afternoons, for other activities Take time for those activities, too!

 

[MiaSRN62]

We carry our Mickey ponchos everywhere with us during the summer. I roll them up as small as I can and stuff them into a backpack. I agree, the ponchos can be hot and sweaty, but my kids would never carry umbrellas (I'd end up doing that) and we also like our hands free. This is typical weather for FL (we've been down quite a few times during the summer) and I wouldn't expect anything different. There was really only one June (6/7 to 6/15/97) that caught us by suprise. Not only did it rain, but it was downright chilly the whole week !?? We were scrambling everywhere for sweatshirts ? Don't know why that year was so odd ?
Have a great time ! I'll be down in early August !

 

[PamOKW]

You're not cursed.....chance of thunderstorms is pretty much the daily weather in Orlando from May-November. In fact, Orlando is the lightning capital. The air from Florida's West Coast and East Coast tends to collide every afternoon/evening right over Orlando -- thunderstorm. They are usually quick and might provide some heat relief. They can also be localized -- you'll get soaked at AK but the folks at the MK will not even know there was a storm.

 

[CharlesTD]

We had the same forecast for our trip in May and we didn't see a single drop of rain it changed even the day we were leaving so I wouldn't worry to much about it. Even if it does rain it will just help to clear out the parks and make it easier for you to get on some of the busier attractions.

 

[JimMIA]

There are three things to remember about Florida weather in the summer -

1 - If there is lightning anywhere in the area, get indoors and stay there until it passes.

2 - As mentioned, the weather is localized. It's a lot more localized than AK/MK -- it can be coming down in buckets across the street and completely dry on your side of the street. [Caveat - see #1 above - lightning often strikes completely dry areas ahead of rain.]

3 - If you don't like the weather, wait 30 minutes. it will change. Florida summer weather is not like weather up north where it gets crummy and stays that way for days. Sometimes it does if we have a trough just sitting, but not normally.

 

[dis-happy]

Not to scare you, but make sure you buy some ponchos! We just returned from a week long trip last Friday, and every day last week was forecast for scattered t-storms, but in our case, that added up to a lot of steady rain every day (plus times of thunder and lightning), not just an occasional storm. I think that June weather is more overall rainy, August storms more the ones that come quickly then leave. Hope you have lots of and fun though!

 

[Gwydion]

Thanks for the replies everyone. At least I have hope now.
We're leaving in a couple of hours and it's raining here in Georgia.
Wish us luck!