Will polar vortex make it to Miami after weekend heat? See how cold it will get
So is a polar vortex that weather watchers are forecasting for the central and eastern United States going to hit Florida soon?
AccuWeather’s forecasting of some big chills for parts of the U.S. in the coming weeks, according to USA Today, shouldn’t make it to South Florida. Not unless you count a 63-degree morning low on Tuesday as polar. Well, Miami folks probably do.
Tallahassee at 39 and Gainesville at 42 as lows could take the state’s polar prize.
Tampa with 53 degrees? Downright nippy. But not a chiller that distracted some dedicated Hurricane Aquatics swimmers twice last January at the University of Miami pool when temperatures dipped into the lower-50s by 8 p.m. UM students still walked the campus by night in shorts and T-shirts.
Shane Hinton, a meteorologist for CBS News Miami, posted a Facebook meme earlier this week that showed a 70-degree spread between Miami’s near record 85 and Minneapolis’ 15.
Dry conditions are sticking around Friday into Saturday, but our next South Florida cold front moves through Miami-Dade and Broward Sunday night though Monday, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
“Chances of showers and thunderstorms will increase from northwest to southeast out ahead of, and along, the front for Sunday afternoon through Monday,” weather service forecasters said.
Temperature highs and lows
Hinton detailed the coming temperature gap in ways South Floridians can relate.
“Polo and short sleeves” are your outfit guide for Thursday. “As we make our way to the weekend, I think you’ll be able to trade those in for tank tops and flip flops because it’ll feel more like late summer than fall or meteorological winter,” he said.
Temperatures will then start to fluctuate as the cold front moves in Monday. The average high for this time of year in South Florida is 79, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami. Expect a hot weekend before any type of cold plunge.
- Friday high: 83. Low: 71.
- Saturday: High 85. Low: 70. But the feels-like temperatures because of the heat and dew point on your skin could feel like the 90s, Hinton said.
- Sunday: High 86. Low: 72. The forecast high in Miami and Fort Lauderdale approaches the record 86 for a Dec. 7 set in 1978 in Miami and 1922 in Fort Lauderdale. The Keys’ 83 forecast is two degrees cooler than the 85 record high set in 2016, according to CBS News Miami.
- Monday: High 81. Low: 72.
- Tuesday: High 76. Low: 63.
- Wednesday: High 77. Low 65.
Rain chances
You’ll then trade that wardrobe in for a rain jacket on Monday as chances will be on the rise: 30% Saturday, 50% Sunday and 30% on Monday.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
