Another wintry blast for South Florida with wind chill temperatures that could dip to 30s, 40s
South Florida plunges deeper into winter this week as possible wind chill temperatures could reach the upper 30s inland and 40s at the coast with the mornings of Tuesday and Wednesday expected to be the coolest.
The slap of frigid air comes as one of the planet's most prolific snow-makers pummels parts of the northeast with lake effect snow, and a diving trough leaves the Sunshine State open for a flow of dry air from the most northerly latitudes of the country.
Freeze warnings are in effect in Florida for areas from Ocala through Gainesville and north to Jacksonville, with temperatures in Lake City dipping to 27 degrees Wednesday morning.
Cold weather forecast for Palm Beach County
In Palm Beach County, the overnight low temperatures could be more than 10 degrees cooler than normal with West Palm Beach forecast to hit 49 early Tuesday and 45 degrees closer to Lake Okeechobee. Areas west of the lake could dip to the low 40s with the “feels like” temperatures dipping to the upper 30s.
The normal low temperature in West Palm Beach for early December is 64 degrees.
“It’s going to depend exactly where you are in the county,” said National Weather Service meteorologist George Rizzuto, who is based in the Miami office. “I can’t say this is totally out of the ordinary because it is December. It’s not a record-breaking event by any means.”
The coldest temperature on record in West Palm Beach for Dec. 3 is 43 degrees measured in 1903. The mercury dipped to a record 42 degrees on Dec. 4, 1974.
Last month, West Palm Beach, as measured at Palm Beach International Airport, hit a low of 48 degrees on Nov. 23.
“I am a little worried about it,” said Joe Carmakal, who owns Carmakal Nursery in Wellington, about the cool temperatures this week. “We’ll keep the water on the plants. The water is warmer than the air and insulates them.”
Wellington is forecast to reach 49 degrees for about two hours early Tuesday with a wind chill of 44.
For most homeowners, temperatures dipping into the upper 40s for a short period of time isn’t likely to kill plants, but especially fragile flowering plants, such as orchids or other tropical flora, may start to show damage below 50 degrees, according to the University of Florida.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne does have a frost advisory up for areas around Deltona and near Daytona Beach where temperatures are forecast to drop into the upper 30s during the early morning hours of Tuesday and Wednesday. Daytime highs in areas of Treasure Coast from Stuart through Fort Pierce will stay in the upper 60s to 70-degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday with lows hovering in the upper 40s.
Although cool for South Florida, it probably won't get cold enough to open shelters in Palm Beach County. The criteria for opening a shelter is when the temperature is forecast to fall to 40 degrees or less for a period of four consecutive hours or more. Shelters also will open if the wind chill is forecast to reach 35 degrees or less for a period of four hours or more.
Rizzuto joked that it’s unlikely to get chilly enough to issue a warning for falling iguanas, but they may be cold-stunned temporarily — a paralysis that can cause iguanas to fall from their perches in trees. The mostly sunny days forecast through the week will give them time to warm up and regain their mobility.
Daytime highs Tuesday and Wednesday will be near 70 degrees. By Thursday, temperatures warm to the mid-70s and should reach into the upper 70s Friday. The normal daytime high this time of year is 78 degrees.
Longer cold snaps with overcast skies that prevent iguanas from basking in the sun for warmth can be deadly as the paralyzed reptiles become easy prey to vultures, bobcats and coyotes. Also, when the lizards are immobilized by the cold, their digestive systems sour and they can die from bacterial infections.
Cody Snell, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, said the lake effect snow that is already several feet deep in some areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, is a little earlier than normal, and a function of the Great Lakes still retaining some summer warmth.
Lake effect snow usually trails a cold front and is most prevalent during the early winter months of December and January when the Great Lakes are still warm. When frigid Arctic or Canadian air blows over the warm water, it heats up and moistens, rising quickly into the atmosphere where it cools into clouds then condenses into snow.
The lake effect snow could persist through mid-week.
“For the longer term, by the middle of the month, we will get a pattern change so this doesn’t look like a long-duration cold snap,” Snell said. “There is hope.”
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.