Ready for another weekend freeze? Florida forecasters reveal how low it could go
There’s cold by national standards, and then there’s cold by South Florida standards.
We’re in for a second weekend of the latter, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service in Miami.
We’re talking lows that could meet or beat Monday morning’s temperatures that ranged from 42 degrees in Miramar and Plantation to 59 in Key West by Saturday night.
“There’s still time for things to change but I will say this is a pretty substantial looking front,” meteorologist Shawn Bhatti of Miami’s weather service said on Tuesday morning of what he sees on the way.
“There’ll be a pretty quick push for showers and thunderstorms ahead of it and then behind it it just gets really, I don’t want to say really cool, but maybe by South Florida standards, really cool.”
How cold could it dip?
Get ready for a repeat, and maybe worse.
“Saturday night into Sunday morning we could see some of the coldest temperatures,” Bhatti said. “Over the interior we could see some locations flirt with freezing temperatures. Along the east coast we’ll get another low to mid-40s, possibly.”
This would mean interior portions of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Glades, Hendry and Collier counties, as well as surrounding areas of Lake Okeechobee, could shiver at 33 to 37 degrees.
Key West went 59 on Monday, look for a possible 51 Saturday.
Key Largo dipped to 48 and also is expecting to dip below that Saturday. Consider 43 degrees.
The highs on Saturday and Sunday in South Florida would likely only hit the low 60s if the front pushes through, according to the weather service.
The Tampa Bay area, which saw its airport dip to 35 degrees Monday morning, could see about 38 degrees as its Saturday night low this coming weekend.
Orlando, which saw 36 degrees at its airport, could beat that low with 35 degrees Saturday.
“Expect even colder temperatures Saturday night, with near freezing temperatures possible south to the northern shore of Lake Okeechobee and interior portions of Brevard, Indian River and Saint Lucie counties,” the weather service in Orlando said in its hazardous weather outlook.
Tallahassee is looking to tie the 27-degree low mark for a second weekend in a row.
Rain chances
Before the approaching front makes it “really cool” expect a 70% chance of rain or thunderstorms Wednesday, according to the weather service in Miami. Another batch of clouds and storms are possible Friday into Saturday, followed by a dry pattern into the next work week, Bhatti said.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 11:12 AM.
