Why is Miami going from cold to hot in one day? 30-degree temperature swing explained
Winter storms in the western and northern U.S. have dumped snow from California to New York City while Miami could tie or break a high temperature record of 89 degrees for Feb. 28, according to CBS Miami meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez.
The previous high 89 degree temperature for Feb. 28 was set in 1956, according to Extreme Weather Watch.
But that’s not the only extremes we’re seeing on this last day of February. South Florida has its own micro-local extreme going on.
According to Gonzalez, Tuesday morning Homestead dipped to 60 degrees. Some interior portions were 59. But the high could hit around 90 by the afternoon.
That’s some Texas-style extremes from chill to sizzle. Here’s what to know:
Extremes explained
A similar pattern continues into the weekend, according to Will Redman, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Miami.
Redman explains that the cold to hot extreme is because of a mostly high-pressure area and southerly wind flow combo, paired with ongoing dry air and clear skies.
“Generally, at night, the winds calm down and it cools down because there’s clear air, and then during the day, usually our hottest temps occur with the southerly winds. If [the wind] was more onshore like from the east or west they wouldn’t generally be as warm,” he said.
South Florida will be under that high pressure influence for a while — likely to the end of the week and maybe even over the weekend, Redman said.
But the extremes will narrow.
Forecast change
“Looks like it could be breezier overnights out of the south on Wednesday night, Thursday night, so if that stays the same with the trend it actually would end up being warmer overnight, so probably only being in the low-70s at the at the lowest,” Redman said.
At the hottest, mid-week and onward, the days could be mid- to upper-80s on the coast and interior-wise probably low-90s, he said.
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 10:10 AM.
