Florida is predicted to continue to have cold temperatures on Sunday and into the following week as December gets underway, raising concerns about the likelihood of snowfall in the Sunshine State.
For parts of northeast and north-central Florida, the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a freeze warning, which will be in force overnight and Monday morning. A polar cold front is predicted to move over the state at the time of the warning.
The freeze warning is in effect from west of Jacksonville to Gainesville along the I-10 and I-75 corridors. The eastern borders of these regions are also under a frost advisory from 1 to 9 a.m. on Monday.
When temperatures are predicted to fall below 32 degrees for an extended period of time, the NWS warns that temperatures might drop as low as 30 degrees during the freeze warning.
Florida residents shouldn’t expect to see snowflakes, even though the chilly snap may make them dream of a winter wonderland. Dry air will prevail instead, moving in behind the cold fronts.
“Right now, there’s no opportunity for any snow here through the holiday weekend and into the first week of December,” David Reese, a meteorologist with the NWS in Tallahassee, stated. “Really dry air is pushing in behind the fronts. There will be a little moisture as the front moves through.”
Conditions in northeast Florida and the western Panhandle will be similar: clear, dry, and chilly.
“Our little piece of Florida isn’t expecting snow,” Steve Miller, a meteorologist with NWS Mobile, Alabama, stated. “It’ll be pretty dry and breezy, with inland freezes possible Saturday and Sunday.”
Even though Florida isn’t exactly a winter paradise, locals who aren’t used to the freezing phenomena have enjoyed snowfall on occasion.
According to the Florida Climate Center, Florida saw its first recorded snowfall in 1774. Even though it doesn’t happen every year, snowfall isn’t as uncommon as some people think.
“Since 1886, there have been more than 80 months in which at least a trace of snow has been reported somewhere in the state,” according to the Climate Center.
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Angie Enyedi, a Jacksonville NWS meteorologist, said Monday night might be the coldest of the season so far, with temperatures falling to freeze levels in Duval County and possibly reaching the hard freeze benchmark of 28 degrees in some places.
“Could possibly have some locations getting to hard freeze criteria of 28 degrees, but it’ll stay dry and clear,” she stated.
A possible “hard freeze” striking the Southeast, including northern Florida, has been warned of by the NWS Climate Prediction Center. According to the center, this is probably going to happen early next week. In an X post, the center stated, “Please protect susceptible vegetation, and if you are traveling south, bring your jackets!”
If the temperature is predicted to drop below 28 degrees for three hours or more, a hard freeze warning is issued. They happen roughly once every ten years in rural parts of south Florida’s interior, and less commonly near coastal metropolitan areas.
