Weather

Tropical rains over Central Florida; Crewed launch forecast

ORLANDO, Fla. — Another rainy day is expected for Central Florida.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Mostly cloudy with a 70 percent chance of scattered rain and storms.
  • Temps will sit in the mid 80s.
  • Evening temps will drop to the lower 70s with isolated showers.
  • Wednesday will see a 50 percent chance of afternoon showers and storms.

Can this tropical low develop further?

The tropical low pressure that is centered over Central Florida has a very low chance of developing into a fully tropical system within the next two days, while it parallels the coast of Florida and moves northward. Nonetheless, its moisture and local factors will continue to provide enough instability, which will trigger afternoon storms through the rest of the week.


Forecast for First Crewed Launch:

The forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of a go for the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral since the Shuttle Missions in 2011. The main concern continues to be flying through precipitation and clouds. Although rockets don’t produce lightning themselves, the speed at which it travels through a cloud can trigger lightning to happen within this cloud. Also, there could be frozen precipitation at the upper levels which can damage the rocket.

As far as upper-level winds, these criteria varies depending on payload and rocket. Some rockets can withstand more winds than others. If the winds are too strong it can be like a horizontal wall that a rocket can encounter. The 45th Weather Squadron provides upper-level wind data to SpaceX and they determine if the forecast works for the launch.

If Wednesday’s launch is scrubbed, the next launch window is on Saturday. In that case, currently, the chance for a “go” to launch is of 70 percent.

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Jason Kelly

Jason Kelly, WFTV.com

Jason Kelly joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2014. He serves as the station's Digital Executive Producer.