“Central Florida to Expect Drought Relief with Arrival of ‘Backdoor’ Cold Front”

ORLANDO, Fla. – The long stretch of 90 degree temps may come to a halt very soon for us Central Floridians.

Now granted, I’ll caveat that by saying it won’t be for too long, but some relief is relief all the same right?

Indeed, there is expected to be an influx of moisture due to the remnants of the significantly elongated low-pressure system that was emphasized this time last weekend, along with an intriguing occurrence known as a “backdoor” cold front.

To clarify, a “backdoor” cold front does not entail a cold front or a rush of cool air surreptitiously entering through the back entrance, I assure you. Nevertheless, it presents an intriguing phenomenon for Central Florida, not only because of the time of the year but also our geographical location.

Backdoor fronts are typically encountered in the northeastern regions of the United States, or particularly in the arid southwest due to elevated terrain characteristics and the positioning of our high-pressure systems, which contribute to guiding that cooler air in a southerly direction.

In our case, a cold front is on its way, but it will get lost in the sauce of heat that has remained entrenched across the south for such a long while now. Because of this, the jet stream high up in our atmosphere will rocket more eastward than southeastward.

As high pressure becomes more dominant off our Atlantic coastline, this will once again allow for the front to sag southward unimpeded. It will enter our area from the east and northeast, which is NOT typical for cold frontal passage as its coined.

That’s where the nickname “backdoor” front comes from. Florida is flat, and we have zero land barriers to our north or northwest to stop a cold front from sliding through. That’s been the rhythm since November/December of last year up until now.

Our computer models do a fantastic job of showing this occur, as high pressure helps to drive what’s left of our decaying boundary in from our east instead of the trademark reach from up in the panhandle downward.

Because of this, our afternoon sea breeze SHOULD finally have enough juice to kick back off tomorrow and especially Monday.

We’ll also get a short break from the high temps sitting somewhere in the low to mid 90s.

But don’t get too comfortable, because we’re watching as these temperatures rise back up into the 90 degree range just in time for the first of May.