NEWS: Tornado Watch Issued For Disney World Ahead of Tropical Storm Debby

It’s hurricane season, which means we’ve been carefully monitoring the weather recently.

Hurricane season starts on June 1st and ends on November 30th, and experts have predicted that this season could be “explosive.” Last month, the first hurricane of the season, Beryl, which was measured as a Category 5 storm, impacted much of Texas. Now, a tropical storm is headed toward Florida, and that storm could affect Disney World. 

According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Debby will likely bring heavy rainfall to Florida, as well as life-threatening storm surges along the western coast of the state. Hurricane conditions are expected on Monday, August 5th, along the Florida Big Bend region. Here’s the current projected path of the storm: note that this cone does not show the size of the storm and dangerous conditions can occur outside the cone.

As of this morning, Tropical Storm Debby is located about 130 miles west-southwest of Tampa with winds of 65 mph. According to WESH, these tropical storm-force winds extend outwards up to 140 miles from the center of the storm. As the bands of the storm move ashore, tornado warnings have been issued in southwest Florida. A tornado watch has also been issued for much of Florida, including the Orlando and Disney World area through 8PM Sunday, August 4th.

NEW: Tornado Watch has been posted for just about all of Central Florida through 8pm…

This is as expected- as more and more shear work into our area, brief spin up tornadoes are possible… pic.twitter.com/Sa5RoIBIEt

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) August 4, 2024

If you’re visiting Disney World today or tomorrow, you’ll want to keep an eye on the weather and stay weather-aware. Disney World has not yet posted any changes to its hours, but you will want to keep an eye out for updates as the storm progresses. Currently, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is closed for the day and will reopen on Monday, August 5th.

We can’t wait to see you all tomorrow! ☀️? pic.twitter.com/zjoszBOzXO

— Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (@BuschGardens) August 4, 2024

We’ll keep an eye out for updates, so be sure to check back with AllEars again soon for more.

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Are you visiting Disney World right now? How are you preparing for potential bad weather? Let us know in the comments!