Arctic Blast This Week...Even Colder This Weekend..Major Cold for Florida!

The blocking pattern that is present of eastern Canada continues to funnel down very cold air from the Arctic. Temperatures have been below normal across all of the Midwest, the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Ohio Valley and the Deep South for the past week. And the below normal temperature trend will continue. The Florida growers are taking precautions to protect their crops. Freezing or below freezing temperatures will occur tonight and for the next several nights all of Florida except for the extreme south. But even just to the west of Miami, a freeze warning is in effect tonight. The NAM model continues to bring down a northerly flow of air from right out of the Arctic tundras and that trend will continue with a reinforcement of the cold air this upcoming weekend. For the Northeast, there may be a little light snow or flurries as a storm passes well to our south and east. The long-term GFS is trending toward very cold air this weekend over much of the lower 48 states with a moderating trend taking over across the county after January 14th.

The National Weather Service in Miami, FL reported today:

Longest Stretch of Much Below Normal Temperatures in 15 to 25 Years Possible... Temperatures are expected to remain much below normal over all of south Florida this week, with the possibility of even colder temperatures this upcoming weekend. It is not unheard of to have freezing or near-freezing temperatures in south Florida each winter. In fact, inland areas south and west of Lake Okeechobee experience freezing temperatures at least once a year on average. Over the metro and coastal areas of south Florida, freezing temperatures are less frequent, but even in these areas freezing temperatures have occurred about every 5 to 10 years on average. Temperatures drop to at least 35 about every 1 to 2 years in the Naples area, and about every 2 years in the outlying areas of southeast Florida. For the urban areas of Miami/Fort Lauderdale, temperatures drop to at least 35 degrees about 2 to 3 times a decade, At West Palm Beach, the average is about every 1 to 2 years. What is more noteworthy about the current cold snap is the duration of the event. Typical south Florida cold snaps last about 2-3 days before winds switch to an easterly direction and blow warmer Atlantic air across the region. Temperatures have dropped to below 50 degrees for three consecutive mornings over almost all of south Florida, with temperatures dropping to 45 or lower from Collier County east to Palm Beach County and points north. The latest forecast calls for lows to drop below 45 degrees over all of south Florida through Thursday morning. This would give 6 consecutive days of sub-50 and/or 45 degree-or-lower temperatures.

George Wright is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist and President of Wright Weather Consulting, Inc. Our website is WrightWeather.com.