Please tell me about the late June thunderstorms?

[FlightlessDuck]

I love when it rains in Florida.

 

[ucfknight]

I love when it rains in Florida.

Rain is good in Florida. It cools things off and clears out the crowds.

The only problem is that in summer it is rarely ever just rain. It is that darn continuous lightning that makes things dangerous and causes all outside attractions to close.

 

[anniemae]

You just never know. I always say if you are going in the summer, prepare for rain and be happy if its sunny. It is just too unpredictable. The forecast is the same all summer: Chance of rain every day.

It can be raining in AK and sunny in MK. Nothing you can do but pack those ponchos and hope you don't need them!

 

[jayohjayoh]

I'll be there June 26 as well. Hope no rain.
It rained every day we were there last trip.
Of course we go on but it still sucks.
Hopefully another drought will start

Yeah, hopefully another drought starts so that hundreds of thousands more acres can be burned down by wildfires.

 

[DaniMoon]

We arrive Monday as well. Have a bunch of throwaway ponchos packed, going to throw in a couple small umbrellas and hope for the best.

 

[Shanti]

We are headed down Monday, and the weather shows 60% chance of scattered or PM thunderstorms each day. Is this just par for the course this time of year? Should we expect a brief afternoon storm each day or are these more like once it starts coming down it never stops? I made most of my FP+ reservations for 2p-5p, so if we miss a ride (BTM for example) b/c it's shut down for thunderstorms, will it be reusable later in the day if the storms go away?

We are also planning 2 water park days b/c I have leftover non-expiring tickets. Our local water park shuts down for 30m after thunder - do Disney parks do something similar, or will they just shut down altogether?

Thanks so much for your help!

PS - it seems like anytime someone posts regarding crowds or weather in the summer or whatever, they are told to choose a different time to visit. After years of freedom as to when I could head to Disney, as a now single mom with shared custody and a new career in teaching after years as a SAHM, I am very limited in when we can travel. (Limited with a lot of things now, but I digress.) So as much as I would love to go in October, I can't. Just to limit the number of responses I get that say "if you don't like thunderstorms, don't go now!"

It's always nice to get a chance to help out a fellow teacher who is also a fellow single mom with shared custody.

Yes, daily thunderstorms are par for the course in summer at WDW. It's still a great time to visit, as theme park crowds are lower during mid-summer than they were in past years (and October is much, much busier than it used to be, so many of those people telling you that you'd have a much better time visiting at "X" time of year are actually wrong). There is also no better time of year to enjoy those fantastic resort pools (and the resorts themselves are cheaper in summer.) The water parks are more crowded in summer than at any other time, but that's par for the course, too.

We have been to WDW the past two Julys and loved it, and we're headed back this summer during the first week of August. Here is some info & advice you might find helpful for summer touring:

• Water Parks: The Disney water parks do not close due to thunder or lightning (a hurricane or tornado would be a different story, but those are both very unlikely). If there is a thunderstorm or lightning in the area (the latter can be particularly annoying, as lightning can occur even when it's not raining), the water parks will temporarily stop the rides and clear the wave pools/lazy rivers, so there isn't much to do until the thunderstorm or lighning waiting period is over. Last summer at Blizzard Beach we had to wait under cover about 2 hours mid-day, but were then rewarded with a nearly empty water park afterwards, as most people had left (and the water park had been miserably crammed with people before the storm). But we didn't have an attraction shutdown on our Typhoon Lagoon day, and we didn't have an attraction shutdown on either of our water park days two years ago in July, either.
• Theme Parks: The Disney theme parks also do not close due to thunder or lightning, but the outdoor rides will temporarily close until the risk of lightning has abated. If you had a FP and the ride was shut down, the system will automatically give you a replacement FP. To avoid missing rides due to weather, I recommend doing as many outdoor rides as possible before noon, because most thunderstorms occur in the afternoon/early evening. Arriving at the parks before rope drop is very important in summer, because the driest part of each summer day is the morning. Even on days with thunderstorms starting at noon, it isn't uncommon to have clear blue skies at 9 and 10. It's interesting how quickly storms form (and disappear) in Florida.
• Take Breaks: The mid-day break will be your friend on summer park touring days. Hit the parks at rope drop, take a break in the mid-afternoon when the parks are hottest, wettest & most crowded. Your break would ideally be at a resort close to the parks (they have great pools), but if you're not staying nearby, try to at least have an ADR for a late lunch or early dinner scheduled, to take you out of the middday weather and crowds.
• Wear/Bring the Right Gear: Avoid wearing denim, which shrinks and clings when wet, and takes forever to dry. Don't wear shoes that will make you miserable when wet: instead wear crocs or waterproof athletic sandals like Tevas. Tennis shoes, which many people swear by, get miserably soggy and can take days to fully dry, so I don't recommend them for summer touring. Bring a lightweight poncho for each person, a good hat for each person, sunglasses, and I swear by my little UV umbrella (an umbrella with a special coating that blocks UV rays- you can find them on Amazon). It makes all the difference to have that bit of shade while touring in summer.

If you have any other questions, just ask! Have fun!

 

[ZoZo]

Is the rain making it chilly though? Leaving in a few hours from Ohio and all we have packed are shorts, t-shirts, and tank tops. Should I pack some other clothes?

If you do get wet (which you can even with ponchos), going from the wet outside into heavy air conditioning can be very uncomfortable. I was at AK a couple of years ago during a real gullywasher. Rain going sideways, so we got sort of wet even with ponchos. Went inside to ride Dinosaur, and took off our ponchos. We were super cold in the AC, since we were wearing sleeveless tops and shorts. Luckily I had packed a sweatshirt in my backpack, or I would have had to buy one (at $60 a pop, it wasn't in your budget!). It pays to think ahead!

 

[Shanti]

Is the rain making it chilly though? Leaving in a few hours from Ohio and all we have packed are shorts, t-shirts, and tank tops. Should I pack some other clothes?

You'll never be chilly except maybe in air-conditioned restaurants and theaters, if you tend to be cold. The rain does cool things off a bit, but not enough to make anyone cold.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Do your must-dos in the morning and early afternoon
We've had to swim in morning sometimes in the summer because the storms closed the pools in the afternoons and the kids get annoyed

 

[MarBee]

Okay I'm sort of freaking out now I go next week as well. I was expecting the typical pop up thunderstorm that we've experienced during summer trips. I wasn't prepared for all day torrential downpours. Our plans were to sleep in late, swim during the day, then do parks until closing since it helps with the heat that way. Should I redo all of my plans? Freaking out now!

 

[ktmo]

We are also leaving next week. I appreciate all of the advice. I will be packing ponchos and lots of pairs of shoes. Hopefully, we get some pool time in.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Okay I'm sort of freaking out now I go next week as well. I was expecting the typical pop up thunderstorm that we've experienced during summer trips. I wasn't prepared for all day torrential downpours. Our plans were to sleep in late, swim during the day, then do parks until closing since it helps with the heat that way. Should I redo all of my plans? Freaking out now!

This is just me but I would never miss the mornings in the summer. It's the coolest time of the day and the weather is the most settled. This way if the weather goes sideways we feel like we got a good park day in. You should be able to go at night too once it clears

 

[North of Mouse]

If you came in October there would be people posting "never go during hurricane season!".

For the record, the busiest hurricane season is Aug-Sept. 'Most' years it's fairly calm in Oct. but always exceptions. I've lived through lots of them on the LA coast.

It's almost like FL is playing 'catch up' on the rains this year. We were at Disney Apr-May and the weather was nearly perfect with a few extra hot days. They needed rain badly though.

 

[boris]

Maybe the uncommon rains at the beginning of this month may turn into more typical rain showers for the reminder of june. We need at least 2 dry days to enjoy busch gardens and sea world.

 

[MarBee]

This is just me but I would never miss the mornings in the summer. It's the coolest time of the day and the weather is the most settled. This way if the weather goes sideways we feel like we got a good park day in. You should be able to go at night too once it clears

We are not early birds by nature, and I am SUPER pale. Going at night helps me stay unburied and uncranky Plus my kids loooooove to swim. So we wake, swim, then parks till they kick us out!

I don't actually want to switch up the schedule, but I'm interested to know if they are forecasting torrential downpours and big thunderstorms for the afternoons into the night. If we are going to be stuck inside most of the time, I may be swayed to go earlier in the day.
From the weather forecasts I've seen, it looks like typical June weather next week. Anyone else see/think differently?

 

[Kriii]

We have a 3 day trip scheduled starting the 23rd and I noted that there are scattered T-storms in the forecast. I always pack a mini umbrulla or two in our back pack in anticipation of scattered rain. For the more torrential downpours, we either wait it out under cover or buy ponchos in the park. I might pack ponchos this time though, if the forecast changes to show more rain. I plan to dress in moisture wicking clothing and wear Teva sandals, so that I can dry out faster. Summer can range from no rain absolute downpours. Whatever the weather, I hope the OP enjoys the trip

Edited to add: OK, a storm just popped up outside and the rain is pouring! Kind of love the timing

 

[vettegirl]

I am on the fence about a last minute bday trip and fathers day trip as the forecast has me worried. Might have to go DL instead

 

[disnut8]

We once went in June and when we got back, someone asked if the weather was OK. I just grinned and said "yep - it rained every single day". The person thought I was nuts but I explained that we had ponchos or jackets, took extra socks just in case, and made sure we had newspapers stuck in our sneakers each night. Plus, rain is nothing except water from the clouds and I figured we were just getting showers every once in a while. Plus - we're not picture takers or posers so we didn't care what our hair looked like, we just wanted to have fun and we did. Nothing better coming back from a park, being very wet, walking through the resort and having your teenage son letting you sing "Singing In the Rain" while he jumped in puddles with you. That is a vacation.

 

[ucfknight]

For the record, the busiest hurricane season is Aug-Sept. 'Most' years it's fairly calm in Oct. but always exceptions. I've lived through lots of them on the LA coast.

October is only slightly less busy than August for tropical storms. Mid September is the peak of the season.

Average number of Atlantic tropical storms per year by month:
September 3.5
August 2.3
October 2.0
July 0.5
November 0.5
June 0.5
May 0.1
December 0.1

Tropical storm patterns for where they form and where they go also vary quite a bit during the season. Storms in October are much more likely to have an effect on the Orlando area than storms in August:

 

[Davistigers]

We'll be leaving on Tuesday, June 20 for our 8-day trip to WDW. I did see the weather report and was worried, but after reading this thread I'm determined we will have fun no matter how soggy we are. Putting my ponchos and mini umbrellas on the packing list!