How cold did it get in Florida? Below freezing, and Miami saw ‘sluggish iguanas’
How cold did it get Wednesday morning?
Around 5 a.m., the National Weather Service in Miami warned of the possibility of “sluggish iguanas” and didn’t rule out some isolated raining of the cold-blooded creatures from your trees.
That’s what happens to iguanas when temperatures hit the 40s.
And that’s what temperatures did. Try 46 degrees in Pompano Beach, reported CBS4 meteorologist Craig Setzer.
Homestead, West Kendall, Opa-locka, Fort Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines woke to 48 degrees, he reported.
Miami saw 51, said Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School.
So no records. Miami would have had to go under 43 degrees and Fort Lauderdale dip below 35 to go into the record books.
Still, it was cool.
The Florida Keys ranged from 51 degrees in North Key Largo to 61 at the southernmost point, Key West, reported WSVN meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez.
Tuesday evening, by 6 p.m., Miami had already tied its record low maximum temperature (or record cool maximum temp) of 64 degrees, the National Weather Service in Miami posted on Twitter. And, by 8 p.m. or so, Miami folks who went outside found themselves shivering at 55 degrees.
And it would only get, and feel, cooler than the speed limit.
The wind chill factor — what it really feels like — was closer to the mid-40s or cooler in most of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, WSVN’s Gonzalez said.
The whole state took in its coldest air since the beginning of the year.
“A frosty night,” reported the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, where it was 35 degrees.
Jacksonville, Gainesville and Crystal River in North Florida all hit 32 degrees — the freezing point — the University of Florida’s weather school, UF Weather, posted on Twitter just before 8 a.m.
And these places were warmer than frosty Cross City (29 degrees), Live Oak (28), Ocala (29) and Perry (30).
Cedar Key, at 43, was the warm spot near Gainesville.
Central Floridians saw frost Wednesday morning, as in East Orlando where the temperature fell to 35 degrees, according to meteorologist Ed Valee of Empire Weather.
“It is soooo cold up here in Orlando ... Holy hell ... usually this weather doesn’t start until mid-January,” read one representative tweet Wednesday morning. (Maybe “hell” isn’t the right example.)
The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay sent out a photo from Paul Close, one of its senior meteorologists, that showed light frost on the fields and roof tops in Valrico as temps sunk to 35 degrees as the sun rose.
Homeless shelters in South Florida
▪ The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust activated its Cold Weather Emergency Plan Tuesday afternoon and it runs through Thursday morning. “The National Weather Service has forecast temperatures at or below 50 degrees in portions of Miami-Dade County. As a result, HT will open shelters for the homeless population,” Charles Cyrille, the trust’s division director, said in an alert.
Shelters in Miami-Dade include Dunn at 1028 NW Third Ave. in Miami; Red Roof Inn at 3401 NW Le Jeune Rd. in Miami; North Miami at 12221 W. Dixie Hwy. in North Miam; St Michaels at 28200 SW 125th Ave. in Homestead; and Hampton Inn at 3449 NW 42nd Ave. in Miami.
If you require assistance with homeless sheltering, call the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust Helpline at 877-994-4357 or 305-375-2273.
▪ Broward County opened shelters Tuesday night for the homeless in need of a warm place. Broward officials have a 10 a.m. meeting to determine whether to open shelters for another night Wednesday.
If you have questions or need additional information on the homeless plan in Broward, contact the Homeless Helpline at 954-563-4357.
What about the rest of the week?
“Brace for one more very chilly morning tomorrow, South Florida,” WSVN meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez said Wednesday. “After that, a warming trend begins, and it won’t be as cold on Friday morning.”
She’s talking 48 degrees Thursday morning, then 59 degrees on Friday.
The National Weather Service agrees. Thursday morning will still be cold across South Florida and the rest of the state but inching upward as we head into Friday and the weekend when we should range from the 60s to low-70s and a high in the upper-70s on Sunday in South Florida.
Gainesville will feel the low-40s Thursday and hit 70 degrees on Friday and 74 on Saturday.
Bradenton will range from the low-50s to a warming trend of mid-70s by the weekend.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 9:57 AM with the headline "How cold did it get in Florida? Below freezing, and Miami saw ‘sluggish iguanas’."
