Here's what you need to know for Central Florida's weather for Labor Day weekend:

  • Storms still possible this weekend despite drier air
  • 50–60% chance of rain for the Labor Day weekend
  • Monitoring some action in the tropics

More cloud cover and even some light rain started our Friday.

Throughout the afternoon, rain chances will remain likely. Some strong storm cells have already developed and are moving through the area. We had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning briefly in Osceola County.

The storms are responsible for flooding in parts of Osceola and Orange counties. Lightning struck the roof of an apartment building in Orlando. Orange County fire crews also battled a house fire that was sparked by lightning on Shadowmoss Drive. The fire caused the roof to collapse.

“My phone was ringing," sai homeowner Beth Fitzpatrick. "I picked it up and it was my mother that was calling and she said your house is on fire ” 

Fitzpatrick said she got the call as she was getting ready to leave work. She got home in time to see fire crews battling the flames.

Fitzpatrick's mother and daughter were not home at the time. Their dog was able to escape. The cat is still missing.

Most of her family's belongings, including many priceless items, were destroyed.

“It’s all the memorabilia," Fitzpatrick said. "My daughter was adopted so it’s her papers, it’s those pictures that I have from when she was a little girl. I have some family heirlooms that I don’t know what the state of those will be.”  

The full extent of the damage has not been released. There is extensive damage to the second floor and garage. 

Fitzpatrick says she’s been receiving an overwhelming amount of support from friends and family.

Meanwhile in Buenaventura Lakes, lightning struck a tree and severed a limb, which fell on some power lines, knocking out power to over 2,000 people for over an hour.

View: StormTracker 13 Interactive Radar

Map: Cloud-to-Ground Lightning

Although storms have all but ended, a few lingering showers will be possible through 1 to 2 am.  Under a partly cloudy sky, temperatures will slowly drop to near 75 by sunrise Saturday.

For Saturday, somewhat drier air is invading from the North, but with abundant moisture in place, and an east coast sea breeze setting up, storms will be primarily forming west of I-95, moving from the northeast to the southwest.  Storms will also be moving a bit slower than Friday, so be aware that urban and small stream flooding will continue to be likely.  Temperatures will warm into the low 90s, with our heat index climbing into the triple digits. 

Sunday and Monday offer more east coast sea breeze thunderstorms to form each afternoon, pushing west into the evening.  The chance for showers and storms will drop a little, but still be near 50 percent.  High temperatures also come down a degree or two, but it will still feel like the upper 90s to near 100 in the afternoons.

Erika’s remnant is finally moving away from our eastern shore and Fred will continue to be no threat to anyone in the U.S.  Another area of interest is off the coast of Africa and has a good chance for formation within the next five days.  If it becomes a tropical storm, it will be called Grace.  Current forecasts show it continuing to push west.  It is almost two weeks away from us at its current movement.

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