Cold weather in South Florida with cool morning temperatures

South Florida plunges deeper into winter this week as wind-chilled temperatures could potentially reach the upper 30s inland and 40s on the coast, with mornings on Tuesday and Wednesday expected to be coolest.

The blast of frigid air comes as one of the planet’s most prolific snowmakers showers parts of the Northeast with lake-effect snow and a plunging valley leaves the Sunshine State open to a torrent of dry air from the country’s northernmost latitudes.

In Florida, freeze warnings are in effect for areas from Ocala to Gainesville and north to Jacksonville, with temperatures in Lake City dropping to 27 degrees Wednesday morning.

Frozen iguanas?How cold does it have to be in Palm Beach County to “freeze” iguanas?

Cold weather forecast for Palm Beach County

In Palm Beach County, overnight low temperatures could be more than 10 degrees cooler than normal, with West Palm Beach expected to reach 49 degrees early Tuesday and 45 degrees near Lake Okeechobee. Areas west of the lake could dip into the low 40s, with “feels like” temperatures dropping into the upper 30s.

The normal low temperature in West Palm Beach in early December is 64 degrees.

“It will depend on exactly where you are in the county,” said National Weather Service meteorologist George Rizzuto, who works in the Miami office. “I can’t say it’s completely unusual because it’s December. It is by no means a record-breaking event.”

More:The dry season begins with the driest November in more than a century and low rainfall forecast

The coldest temperature ever recorded in West Palm Beach on December 3 is 43 degrees, recorded in 1903. On December 4, 1974, the mercury dropped to a record 42 degrees.

Last month, West Palm Beach, as measured at Palm Beach International Airport, hit a low of 48 degrees on November 23rd.

“I’m a little worried about it,” Joe Carmakal, who owns Carmakal Nursery in Wellington, said of the cool temperatures this week. “We make sure that the water stays on the plants. The water is warmer than the air and insulates it.”

Wellington is expected to reach 49 degrees for about two hours early Tuesday, with a wind chill of 44 degrees.

For most homeowners, plants are not likely to die if temperatures briefly dip above 40 degrees Celsius, but particularly sensitive flowering plants such as orchids or other tropical plants may show damage below 50 degrees Celsius, according to the University of Florida.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne has issued a freeze warning for areas around Deltona and near Daytona Beach, where temperatures are expected to fall above 30 degrees in the early hours of Tuesday and Wednesday. Daytime high temperatures in the Treasure Coast areas from Stuart to Fort Pierce will remain in the upper 60s to 70s Tuesday and Wednesday, while lows will be in the upper 40s.

Although it’s cool for South Florida, Palm Beach County probably won’t get cold enough to open shelters. The prerequisite for opening an emergency shelter is that the temperature is expected to drop to 40 degrees or below for at least four consecutive hours. Shelters will also open if winds are expected to reach 35 degrees or less for a period of four hours or longer.

Rizzuto joked that it was unlikely to get cold enough to issue a warning about falling iguanas, but they could become temporarily cold-stunned – a paralysis that can cause iguanas to fall from their perches in trees. The mostly sunny days forecast throughout the week will give them time to warm up and regain their mobility.

Daily high temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday will be around 70 degrees. Temperatures will warm to the mid 70s by Thursday and are expected to reach into the upper 70s on Friday. The normal daily high temperature this time of year is 78 degrees.

More:A warmer, drier winter is forecast for South Florida, with La Niña expected through the end of the year

Prolonged cold snaps with cloudy skies that prevent iguanas from basking in the sun can be deadly, as the paralyzed reptiles become easy prey for vultures, bobcats and coyotes. Additionally, if the lizards become immobile due to the cold, their digestive systems become acidic and they can die from bacterial infections.

Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center, said the lake effect snow, already several feet deep in some areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, was a little earlier than normal and a result of that in the Great Lakes still some snow remains summer warmth.

Lake effect snow typically follows a cold front and is most common in the early winter months of December and January when the Great Lakes are still warm. When cold Arctic or Canadian air blows over the warm water, it warms and humidifies, rising quickly into the atmosphere where it cools into clouds and then condenses into snow.

Lake effect snow could continue into midweek.

“Long term, we’ll see a pattern change by the middle of the month so this doesn’t look like a long-term 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 deals with real estate, weather and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate digest. If you have news tips, please send them to [email protected]. Support our local journalism by subscribing today.

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Cold weather in South Florida with cool morning temperatures

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