ORLANDO, Fla. – A large cluster of storms continues to travel across the Florida Panhandle, sparking several severe thunderstorm warnings Friday morning.

Some of that energy could hold together through mid-morning and potentially clip northwestern counties of Central Florida, including Marion, Lake and Sumter. For this reason, rain chances remain slightly higher at 40-50% into the afternoon for those counties.

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your weather photos]

Later in the day, added moisture and instability from this area will help fuel a few scattered showers along the sea breeze. Rain chances elsewhere in Central Florida remain low at 20-30%.

For those not seeing much rain, expect another very hot day, with highs returning to the mid-90s and feeling closer to 100 degrees.

Forecast models are in a bit of disagreement as we head into the weekend ahead of an approaching cold front. Some models show another ball of energy emerging from the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, increasing rain chances by late morning, while other models continue the typical sea breeze driven storms later in the day.

With this uncertainty, we will keep a 40-50% shot for rain and storms on Saturday. Along with more storms, highs will heat up even further — into the upper 90s, with heat indices at 100-105 degrees.

By Sunday, a surface cold front will approach the area and looks to bring our best opportunity at widespread rainfall, with coverage at 70-80%. Don’t be surprised to see a few storms becoming strong to marginally severe. With additional rain and clouds, temperatures should remain cooler in the upper 80s.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The state of Florida is developing new standards for managing lithium-ion battery fires.

State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said new rules are needed because electric vehicles and other devices like e-scooters and e-bikes are becoming more common.

“The danger is known. It is real. Now is the time to act,” Patronis said during a news conference in Orlando.

The Department of Financial Services began making rules Thursday to develop standards for managing lithium-ion battery fires. Patronis said having standards for handling these fires is critical for Florida because electric vehicles can catch fire shortly after a hurricane.

“These heavily metalized saltwater create bridges on these batteries and they short out. And when they short out they will create a cascade effect,” Patronis said.

Patronis said 20 EVs caught fire after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Florida Professional Firefighters President Bernie Bernoska said firefighter safety needs to be looked at more than just trying try put out these fires.

“Beyond the challenge of simply extinguishing these fires, there’s also another danger that is sometimes overlooked and deals with the harmful cancer-causing gases produced during a lithium battery fire incident,” Bernoska said.

In addition to creating state rules, Patronis is encouraging Congress to pass federal standards for lithium batteries.

“We’ve got to be sensitive to where the problems lie that have not yet been fully discovered or factored in how to deal with these technologies,” Patronis said.

It could take nine months to a year to develop the state standards.

Copyright 2024 WCTV. All rights reserved.

A Florida man was arrested for allegedly defrauding a victim in Connecticut of over $100,000, police said.

On Thursday, Coventry police arrested 29-year-old Osmaldy De La Rosa Nunez of Orlando, Florida, on one count of first-degree larceny after an investigation into a wire fraud in August 2022, according to the department.

Police alleged that De La Rosa Nunez communicated with the victim as a person with whom the victim was familiar and had money transferred to him that was due to a third party which amounted to a loss of around $135,000.

According to police, De La Rosa Nunez was using a fictitious name, and his true identity was discovered with the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

De La Rosa Nunez was held in Florida as a fugitive from justice, police said. He waived extradition and was transported back to Connecticut to face charges.

De La Rosa Nunez was being held on a $500,000 court-set bond and was scheduled to be arraigned at Rockville Superior Court on Friday.