Hundreds of cold weather records set to fall this week — and then there’s South Florida
Much of the U.S. is already in a deep freeze and South Florida is finally getting the message: Thanksgiving is around the corner so start acting seasonal, will ya?
So, yes, it’s going to cool down in South Florida, starting with a little tease on Wednesday when temperatures should reach a high of just 80. The low will be just a bit cooler, about 75 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The change is also bringing about a coastal flooding alert along the Atlantic coast during high tide, the weather service said Wednesday. Waves could also hit 10 feet so if you’re a boater consider yourself warned.
Then, by Friday, another cold front makes it way south — and that one should really feel like the fall in Miami and Fort Lauderdale as temperatures dip a bit lower than previously announced. Expect a low of 66 degrees Saturday night in South Florida.
Rain chances are the highest on Friday at 60%.
Bradenton and the Tampa Bay area should be even cooler, with highs reaching only 73 degrees by Wednesday, with lows of 56 degrees by Friday. This, also, reflects slightly cooler temperatures than expected. The National Weather Service also added a rip current warning Wednesday for the Bradenton area beaches.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service already forecast more than 360 daily cold records could be tied or set through Thursday morning in the U.S. from the northern plains to North Florida, where folks could see lows in the 30s Wednesday morning in Jacksonville.
CBS4 meteorolgist Lissette Gonzalez tweeted an upper-case it’s “COLD” across the Florida Panhandle post Wednesday morning, noting that freeze warnings have been issued and that North Florida is to see lows in the 30s in the wake of the cold front. She also noted low 40s across the Big Bend and upper 50s across Central Florida.
By Wednesday afternoon, temperatures in parts of Central and North Florida fell 20 to 30 degrees in a 24-hour period, said WSVN meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez.
Nationwide, expect “both record lows and record cold high temperatures for a particular day,” according to the Weather Channel.
The National Weather Service in Miami also issued a hazardous weather alert for mid to late week as marine conditions are expected to get rough as the cold fronts trickle in, bringing an elevated rip current risk.
This story was updated Wednesday to reflect changes in the forecast, along with coastal flood and marine warnings.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 10:53 AM.
