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Ground stop at Orlando airport amid tornado warnings in Orange and Osceola counties, Florida
Flights have been halted at Orlando airport, due to inclement weather including thunderstorms.
A tornado is set to hit near Lake Mary Jane, Florida, just southeast of Orlando. This comes after a “quick triple seabreeze collision,” as per Noah Bergren, the Weeknight Senior Meteorologist with Fox Orlando.
“A brief tornado may have touched down around 7:15pm EDT around Nova Road just north of 528 in somewhat rural areas,” he said.
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The meteorologist further noted that the tornado threat was now ‘probably’ over. The National Weather Service (NWS) also announced “Tornado Warning continues for Lake Mary Jane FL until 7:45 PM EDT.”
Orlando Airport ground stop
Amid the tornado warning, a ground stop for all flight operations has been announced at Orlando airport. This is due to inclement weather including thunderstorms.
Fox's weather service alert also noted that there was a severe thunderstorm warning in place in the area till 7:45 pm EDT, Monday. Citing the National Weather Service, the channel noted that Orlando's Osceola County and Orange County were at most risk.
There is a “significant threat to property or life,” as per the alert.
Orange County has a total population of 642, 865 people, as per the 2020 census. It has a land area of 191.3 square miles. Meanwhile, Osceola County is the 6th largest county in Florida, with 1,327.5 square miles of land area. As per the 2020 census, it has a population of 388,656.
What led to the tornado warning
As meteorologist Bergren explained, a triple seabreeze collision likely led to he tornado warning. A seabreeze collision usually takes place when breezes from different coastlines converge, usually inland. At the time of this convergence, there is a zone of rising air.
This can oftentimes lead to thunderstorms and increased rainfall, especially in areas where there are relatively weak winds.
