How cold did it get in Florida? ‘I would like my Miami 305 heat back’
UPDATE: How low did it go in Florida on Saturday morning?
South Florida — Miami, Broward and Palm Beach — was 59 degrees at 7 a.m.
“I’m in Miami and it’s not pool weather. The cold front is real,” read The Press at Atlantic City meteorologist Joe Martucci’s post on Twitter around 8 a.m.
Another tweeted, “This cold is UGLY. I would like my Miami 305 heat back.”
She wasn’t talking about the basketball team.
Gainesville, Jacksonville and Pensacola awoke to 35 degrees.
Orlando was 47 degrees and most of Central Florida felt the mid 40s.
Tampa was 42 degrees and Sarasota 45 degrees on Florida’s west coast.
Panama City, the coldest spot at 7 a.m., hit a freezing 32 degrees.
The Florida Keys, the warmest spot in the state, saw lows hit 58 degrees in Lower Matecumbe Key and 59 degrees in Key Largo and Upper Matecumbe Key on Saturday morning. Key West was 61 and the hot spot, relatively, was Cudjoe Key at 62 degrees.
As you consider investing in Popsicle stock given Florida’s particularly warm weather recently, you might want to hold off for a couple of days.
On Friday, temperatures are about to fall to near freezing lows of 33 degrees in parts of the state, like Gainesville and Pensacola, according to the National Weather Service. Orlando should see the mid-40s, says FOX 35 meteorologist Kristin Giannas.
South Florida, too, should see a dip from Thursday’s forecast high of 86 degrees, which is near record heat for this time in February. The current record for Miami and Fort Lauderdale is 87 degrees in 1988 and 1984, respectively.
Orlando also is hot on Thursday, with a high of 84.
This all changes Friday. But only for a little while.
Cold front brings heat relief
“A cold front will bring relief from how warm it has been for the last few days,” said CBS4 meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez.
In Miami-Dade and Broward that means high temperatures Friday afternoon should reach about 76 degrees before dipping to the upper 50s and low 60s Saturday morning, Gonzalez said.
The Florida Keys, which saw some rain Thursday morning and poor visibility on the waters in Key West, will stay in the 60s on Friday night.
The front will be preceded by spotty showers — a 20% chance Friday and 30% Friday night and Saturday in South Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
But as one of South Florida’s signature events — the South Beach Wine and Food Festival — was underway, some passing showers had already moved into the area Friday morning ahead of the chill.
The Tampa Bay area will dip to 46 degrees Friday night and inch back up to the low 70s for a Saturday high and low 50s at night.
In Orlando, Friday’s high will be 61 degrees, Fox 35 meteorologists say, and the low that night should be 45 degrees.
Warming trend
By Sunday, temperatures begin to climb back into the mid-70s in South Florida through mostly clear skies. The 80s return by Wednesday.
Orlando will see a similar warming pattern after the brief chill. Gainesville will range from the mid-70s down to the upper 50s beginning Sunday into the workweek.
Marine conditions decline
The approaching cold front will make boating in South Florida sketchy this weekend, the weather service warns.
“Hazardous marine conditions are expected on Friday into the weekend with increasing swell, high winds, and building waves anticipated. Coastal impacts are also possible this weekend including beach erosion, high surf, and minor coastal flooding around the times of high tide.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 10:12 AM.
