Florida Weather

[jdray]

Made it to 21F before the sun rose. Wind Chill of around 12F.

Official area temps are 24F at JIA.

Forecast to hit 19F tonight.


*Added wind chill.

[HURRICANELONNY]

MADE IT TO 40.8 HERE IN EAST HOLLYWOOD BEFORE SUNRISE.

[boca]

37.6°F here in unincorporated Boca Raton.(441 & Glades Rd)

[Extremeweatherguy]

It looks like Miami has finally broken the 50-degree barrier that's been up all winter. They officially hit a low of 42F this morning, which is the coldest reading in about a year.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

This morning: 38*F
Wind: NNW 15 mph
Wind Chill: 29*F

[HURAKAN]

January 22, 2009:

Low: 40.4ºF @ 7:20 AM

Wnd Chill: 36.9ºF @ 6:40 AM

[boca]

I'm predicting tonight will be a few degrees colder than last night due to the high pressure being nearly overhead and winds becoming calm should cause the temps to drop quickly.

THE COLDEST AIR TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST THURSDAY MORNING AS WINDS
BECOME CALM WHILE A HIGH RIDGES INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST.
THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR THE LIKELIHOOD OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES ACROSS A
LARGE PORTION OF SOUTH FLORIDA EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. LOWS BY
EARLY THURSDAY MORNING ARE FORECAST TO FALL INTO THE MID TO UPPER
20S NORTHWEST INTERIOR TO LOWER 30S INTERIOR...MID TO UPPER 30S
ELSEWHERE...EXCEPT LOWER TO MID 40S ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST.

[Extremeweatherguy]

The forecast for Orlando tonight has been lowered to 26F. If that forecast plays out, then it will be the coldest reading the city has seen in years, even managing to beat the January 2003 event (27F).

[JonathanBelles]

This morning: 38*F
Wind: NNW 15 mph
Wind Chill: 29*F

Same thing I am seeing here currently. Tonight should be colder with frost, and less wind. Freeze warning for Pinellas should stick. My mom saw 34°F at 6:25am this morning.

[psyclone]

Holy smokes it dropped to 37 here this morning. late last night i didn't think it was gonna make it. winds turned slightly east of north and yanked our blanket away during the night. tonight is the big show. i hope things go well but at this point it doesn't look good for alot of areas.

[gatorcane]

Holy smokes it dropped to 37 here this morning. late last night i didn't think it was gonna make it. winds turned slightly east of north and yanked our blanket away during the night. tonight is the big show. i hope things go well but at this point it doesn't look good for alot of areas.

Indeed as I stated in my previous posts (I think one page back), if/when that wind loses that NW component, the temp would plunge for you in northern Pinellas. Tonight is the big show.

PINELLAS COUNTY UNDER A FREEZE WARNING NOW

[jdray]

remains to be seen if Miami can get below 40F. Just west (Virginia Gardens, Hialeah Gardens) is forecast to hit 32F.

Biscayne Bay will help moderate the temps for downtown Miami though.
Keep warm South Florida, y'all ain't used to temps in the 30s. Remember, rain coats and windbreakers only block the wind, not the cold....

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
524 AM EST WED JAN 21 2009

...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST THIS MORNING
FOR GLADES, HENDRY AND INLAND PALM BEACH COUNTIES...
...HARD FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 9 AM EST THURSDAY
FOR GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES...
...FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 9 AM EST THURSDAY FOR
MOST OF MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA, EXCEPT EAST COASTAL AREAS...
...FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY
MORNING FOR GLADES COUNTY..

Hard Freeze means temps below 27F.

[gatorcane]

The forecast for Orlando tonight has been lowered to 26F. If that forecast plays out, then it will be the coldest reading the city has seen in years, even managing to beat the January 2003 event (27F).

Yes and as I commented before this winter season started, I was worried for those living in central Florida who have planted tropical plants that only belong in Southern Florida growing zones (south of the Lake)....

Looks like a total wipe-out of species such as Foxtail palms, coconut palms, and Royal Palms is about to take place anywhere north of Lake O

[jdray]

The forecast for Orlando tonight has been lowered to 26F. If that forecast plays out, then it will be the coldest reading the city has seen in years, even managing to beat the January 2003 event (27F).

Yes and as I commented before this winter season started, I was worried for those living in central Florida who have planted tropical plants that only belong in Southern Florida growing zones (south of the Lake)....

Looks like a total wipe-out of species such as Foxtail palms, coconut palms, and Royal Palms is about to take place anywhere north of Lake O

My neighbors all have queen palms. Much more tolerant of cold.

List of palm trees that are cold hardy:
*True Date Palm Trees (Phoenix dactylifera) - (Date Palms are cold hardy to 18 degrees)
*Canary Island Date Palm Trees (Phoenix canariensis) - (Canary Island Palms are cold hardy to 15 - 18 degrees)
*Texas Sabal Palm Trees (Sabal mexicana) - (Texas Sabal Palms are cold hardy to 16 - 18 degrees)
*Mediterranean Fan Palms (Chamaerops humilis) - (Mediterranean Fan Palms are cold hardy to 5 - 15 degrees)
*California Fan Palm Trees (Washingtonia filifera) - (California Fan Palms are cold hardy to 15 degrees)
*Windmill Palm Trees (Trachycarpus fortunei)- (Windmill Palms are cold hardy to 5 degrees)
*Pindo Palm Trees (Butia capitata) - (Pindo Palms are cold hardy to 12 - 15 degrees)
*Sago Palms (Cycas revoluta) - (Sago Palms are cold hardy to 20 degrees)
*Mexican Fan Palm Trees (Washingtonia robusta) - (Mexican Fan Palms are cold hardy to 18 degrees)
*Queen Palm Trees (Syagrus romanzoffiana) - (Queen Palms are cold hardy to 20 degrees)

[HURAKAN]

THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS SEASON ARE FORECAST FOR TONIGHT WITH A HIGH POSSIBILITY OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF SOUTH FLORIDA.

[gatorcane]

stratocumulus now out over the open waters of the GOM and Atlantic....looks like IDEAL radiational cooling expected over all of Florida including far south Miami-Dade where freezing temperatures can be expected.

This freeze has the potential to be a widespread killer of exotic plant species across most of Florida (except warmer pockets of Southern Florida)

[jinftl]

According to the USDA Plant Hardiness map, most areas should stay within their average annual minimum temps....some more sensitive plants may be effected, but given that record lows for the date are even colder than expected lows in most places, i don't anticipate an event that will change the flora and fauna of florida for generations to come. For southeast florida metro areas, lows are forecast from 37-41 east of I-75 (most of populated Broward) and east of the Turnpike in Miami-Dade (again, most of populated areas) tonight and 43-50 on Thursday night. These lows would be comparable to the 1/3/08 coldsnap, and I don't recall any damage being done to plants locally then.

[feederband]

The forecast for Orlando tonight has been lowered to 26F. If that forecast plays out, then it will be the coldest reading the city has seen in years, even managing to beat the January 2003 event (27F).

Yes and as I commented before this winter season started, I was worried for those living in central Florida who have planted tropical plants that only belong in Southern Florida growing zones (south of the Lake)....

Looks like a total wipe-out of species such as Foxtail palms, coconut palms, and Royal Palms is about to take place anywhere north of Lake O

Yep ....My foxtails are 15 feet and we are still able to cover them by getting on the roof...Some clown years ago ago said something about global warming...I bought into it and I cant tell you how many plants I had to cover..


It hit 28 here last night with the wind...Heavy frost tonight I' m covering everything tonight I didn't cover last night...

[jinftl]

One big reason we won't see many record lows tonight in Florida....thank the year 1985. One of the coldest periods on record in Florida took place 24 years ago this week and temps will probably not go near the 1/22/85 records. No surprise, the last part of January is full of some very low florida temps set through the years. Almost think it was the heart of winter or something!

Records for 1/22 (all set in 1985):

Tallahassee 10 deg
Orlando 20 deg
Tampa 25 deg
Fort Myers 30 deg
West Palm Beach 28 deg
Fort Lauderdale 29 deg
Miami 30 deg

[jdray]

The morning on JAN 21 1985, JAX hit 7F.

That was a brutal cold snap for us in Florida. It damaged an estimated 90% of all of the citrus in the state.