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Heavy showers drop as much as 3 inches of rain on parts of Central Florida

By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Kevin Williams, Brian Shields, WFTV.com, Rusty McCranie, WFTV.com and Eboni Deon, WSB-TV
By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Kevin Williams, Brian Shields, WFTV.com, Rusty McCranie, WFTV.com and Eboni Deon, WSB-TV

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Flood advisories were issued for parts of southern Lake and western Orange counties as storms continued to drench an already saturated Central Florida.

Storms are expected to dump rain on Central Florida between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday.

According to the flood advisory, some areas that could experience flooding are Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Tavares and Mount Dora.

The flood advisory is in effect until 4:30 p.m.

Eastern Seminole and central Volusia counties are also under a minor flood advisory until 4:15 p.m.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD
Weekend's forecast
The storms' pattern will change on Saturday, as the high over the Atlantic will skid west and the "tropical moisture highway" will be rechannel right over Florida. 
Showers and storms during Saturday morning will be focused along the coast. By the beginning of the afternoon the storms will arrive to inland counties and continue to affect most of Central Florida during the rest of the afternoon. The rain-showers will gradually decrease after sunset. If you have plans outdoors inland, make sure to stay weather aware, lightning and torrential rain can arrive quick. 
Send us your weather pics using #stormalert9
The shower and storm pattern will be mainly south to north on Sunday. Showers will be present through the late morning and then, intermittent storms will develop starting early afternoon through the early evening.
Threats
Lightning will be the main threat this weekend. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm's base, make sure to stay weather aware. 
<< Download the free WFTV Weather app to receive lightning alerts when lightning strikes within 8 miles from your location >>
This week some parts of Central Florida have received over 8 inches of rain. After this weekend, 12 inches of rain in total are possible. Expect amount to range between two to four inches through the weekend. With the already saturated ground, any showers could really produce flooding. Stay away from flooded roadways. Six inches of accumulated rain could make a car stall out and 12 inches can make most cars float away. 
Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News starting at 5 a.m. meteorologist Eboni Deon will be tracking the showers and thunderstorms developing across Central Florida.
7:45 p.m.
The sea breeze developed late on Friday afternoon, sparking storms, which have produced heavy rainfall amounts in a short period of time. Since the storms have parked over Lake County, extending to eastern Polk Co., expect rainfall to reach two to three inches within the next 2 hours from these areas. 

We will continue to monitor this situation and bring you the latest on wftv.com, on our WFTV Weather app and across our social media platforms.

<< Download the free WFTV Weather app to receive lightning alerts when lightning strikes within 8 miles from your location >>

6:15 p.m.
Storms have started to fire up across Central Florida. There are some storms which are not moving much, they could be creating minor flooding across inland Volusia. Parts of DeLand and near-by communities have received between 2 to 3 inches of rain and another 3 inches are possible within the next hour or so until the storm dies down.

Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News chief meteorologist Tom Terry will be tracking the showers and thunderstorms developing across Central Florida.

<< Download the free WFTV Weather app to receive lightning alerts when lightning strikes within 8 miles from your location >>

3:30 p.m.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

Very isolated storms have developed over Central Florida by 2:30 p.m. Most of the heaviest activity has affected counties to the north of our viewing area through Jacksonville. Unlike Thursday -- when temperatures remained in the upper-70s -- this Friday afternoon, temperatures have climbed to the mid-80s across much of Central Florida. Many areas have seen partly sunny skies which will provide enough heating and more instability to spark strong storms by 5 p.m.

<< Download the free WFTV Weather app to receive lightning alerts when lightning strikes within 8 miles from your location >>

The main risks with this afternoon's thunderstorms will be frequent lightning, small hail, gusty winds above 40 mph and torrential rain. One to three inches of rain are possible in some Central Florida locations. 

About the next **potential ** system:

During the weeks before the official start of hurricane season, models often try to develop tropical systems. The majority of the time, nothing develops. We've seen this already with the last two systems that brought us rain. 
During the beginning of the season, the most favorable areas for tropical formation is along the Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean and near the Bahamas area. Water temperatures tend to be warm during this time of the year in these regions.
There are also many other ingredients necessary to develop a tropical system, such as: a low level disturbance and weak wind shear, among others. At this moment, on Friday, there is simply nothing developed there to track. The popular spaghetti plots are best used when there is a well-defined low pressure area. We are still about 5 days away from any formation, if any.
Our team of six meteorologists will keep an eye on this in the coming days and bring you the latest on wftv.com and on our newscasts on Channel 9. 

Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News starting at 4 p,m. chief meteorologist Tom Terry will be tracking the showers and thunderstorms developing across Central Florida.

11:30 a.m.
After a break from morning showers, Central Florida will once again be in the middle of strong storms and heavy rain as soon as the early afternoon.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News at noon to get weather updates with certified meteorologist Brian Shields.
Channel 9 meteorologist Rusty McCranie said widespread rain and possible flooding are likely. An additional one to three inches of rain are possible. By the end of the day, many areas may tally 10 inches of rain since Sunday.

<< Download the free WFTV News and Weather apps to track storms in your neighborhood >>

The rain is not over after today, according to Channel 9 certified meteorologist Brian Shields. Expect more rain this weekend, followed by another tropical development in the Caribbean late next week.

Brian Shields will have more on the rain, storms, and flood potential on Channel 9 Eyewitness News at noon.

6:30 a.m.

Morning showers have made a mess of the Friday morning commute.

Channel 9 Traffic Anchor Racquel Asa said I-4 drivers should plan ahead or find a detour, after several crashes, mainly in Orange and Seminole counties.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

<< Traffic tracker: Beat the gridlock and get road detours here >>

Earlier in the morning, I-4 eastbound was closed in Lake Mary because of a crash involving a Seminole County Sheriff's deputy. The road reopened around 5:30 a.m.

Read: I-4 EB re-opens after patrol car crash

<< Download the free WFTV News and Weather apps to track storms in your neighborhood >>

Brevard County first responders also responded to a crash on I-95 involving a tractor trailer.

Watch WFTV Eyewitness News from 5 to 7 a.m. on Channel 9 and TV 27 from 7 to 9 a.m. to get weather and traffic updates every 10 minutes with certified meteorologist Brian Shields and traffic anchor Racquel Asa.

Watch below: Meteorologist Brian Shields' full forecast

4:30 a.m.

Central Florida is in for a wet and stormy end to the work week.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

The day will start with a few morning showers, according to Channel 9 certified meteorologist Brian Shields, and then the afternoon will bring widespread rain and storms.

<< Download the free WFTV News and Weather apps to track storms in your neighborhood >>

Isolated flooding is possible, especially in neighborhoods that have seen almost 10 inches of rain this week.

Watch WFTV Eyewitness News from 5 to 7 a.m. on Channel 9 and TV 27 from 7 to 9 a.m. to get weather and traffic updates every 10 minutes with certified meteorologist Brian Shields and traffic anchor Racquel Asa.

<< Traffic tracker: Beat the gridlock and get road detours here >>

Shields said the weekend will be wet as well. Stay one step ahead of the weather this weekend with the free WFTV weather app.

Shields also said Central Florida is not out of the woods after this weekend: tropical development in the Caribbean is possible late next week.

Watch below: meteorologist Brian Shields' 5-Day Forecast:

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