ORLANDO, Fla. – The remnants of Hurricane Laura are unleashing heavy rain hundreds of miles inland from a path of death and destruction left along the northwest Gulf Coast.
Forecasters say an eastern turn by Laura, which crashed ashore Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane near the Louisiana border with Texas but is now a tropical depression, could be a looming threat to the Mid-Atlantic states over the weekend.
It was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., packing 150-mph winds. Laura destroyed buildings, toppled trees and killed at least six people in the U.S.
Meanwhile, there are two tropical waves churning in the Atlantic.
One wave was located about 850 miles east of the Windward Islands on Friday morning. It is producing an area of showers and thunderstorms and has a 30% chance of development over the next five days.
The other wave was located over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, just west of the Cabo Verde Islands.
The northern part of this wave, which will move rapidly west over the next few days is not forecast to develop due to unfavorable environmental conditions. However, the southern part of the wave is expected to be nearly stationary south of the Cabo Verde Islands for the next several days. That wave has a 40% chance of development over the next five days.
The next named storms will be called Nana and Omar.
STOP! pic.twitter.com/aws8OZPGb0
— Jonathan Kegges (@JonathanKegges) August 27, 2020
Orlando-area forecast
It’s all about the rain chances in Central Florida.
Orlando will reach a high in the low 90s Friday, with a 60% chance of rain, mostly in the late afternoon. The average high on this date is 91. The record high is 99, set in 1903.
There will be a 70% chance of rain through the weekend.
Orlando has a rain deficit of 3.18 inches in 2020.