Customers line up to buy churros and hot chocolate at La Palma Restaurant in West Miami-Dade to fight the cold temperatures in Miami on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2022.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
We have some questions about the weather:
Will it stay cold? Did we break records in South Florida? Is a warming trend coming?
The answers: yes, yes, yes.
What to know:
The cold temperatures in Miami on Christmas Day didn’t stop Jenny Perez of Miami from taking a walk along Calle Ocho in Little Havana, as the cold temperatures affecting Florida continue through the holiday weekend, on Sunday, Dec, 25, 2022. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
First question: Will it stay cold?
“We are going to be warming up,” said Lissette Gonzalez, meteorologist at Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami.
But Monday morning brought another blanket of cold weather to South Florida. If you woke up early for work or to shop or to clean up from Christmas, it was all about the sweatshirt and the socks when you opened the door.
Lows in South Florida were about 50 degrees early Monday, the federal holiday recognizing Christmas. And the inland suburbs were even colder, in the upper 40s.
And if you thought it felt colder, you were right. The wind chill nudged your feels down to the low-40s. But unlike Sunday, Monday afternoon temperatures were forecast to crack 60.
The bad news: dreary skies Monday and Tuesday with on-and-off-again rain.
The cold temperatures in Miami on Christmas Day didn’t stop Jennifer Hierro, left, and Mercedes Hierro from taking a walk along Calle Ocho in Little Havana on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Second question: Did we break any cold records?
Broward County didn’t rise above the 40s on Christmas Sunday and Miami-Dade County hit a high of 50. While the low temperatures didn’t break records, the cold high temperatures did, according to the National Weather Service.
“It was the coldest Christmas on record in terms of high temperatures,” the weather service said on Twitter. “The last time we had high temps this cold was 2010 in Miami, Naples and Fort Lauderdale and 1989 in Palm Beach.”
Yesterday was cold...and it turns out we broke some records!
It was the coldest Christmas on record in terms of high temperatures at our climate sites. The Last time we had high temps this cold was in 2010 in Miami, Naples and Ft. Lauderdale and 1989 in Palm Beach. #flwxpic.twitter.com/mfnKSjZ5F6
The cold temperatures in Miami on Christmas Day didn’t stop people from gathering along Calle Ocho in Little Havana on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Third question: Is it going to get warmer?
You’ll be warmer in South Florida at the start of this week (but not quite warm enough for us).
The National Weather Service in Miami forecast a Monday afternoon high in the low 60s. And say goodbye to the 40s at night. The forecast for late Monday and early Tuesday called for lows in the mid- to low-50s.
Tuesday afternoon’s high will break into the 70s — and it will get warmer from there. The rain and gray skies will stick around, though.
By Wednesday, the afternoon highs will reach the mid-70s. And hello, sun.
By Thursday and Friday and into the New Year’s holiday weekend, the 80s will be back, along with blue skies. But the nights will still be cool, in the 60s and low-70s.
This story was originally published December 26, 2022 at 6:36 AM.
