A new record-breaking influx of arctic air moved south across the eastern half of the United States on Friday, bringing dangerously cold temperatures to the extreme as far south as Florida.
It will be the coldest time in 15 years for many Floridians, and could lead to ocean-induced snowstorms along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The new polar move comes as millions of people in the eastern half of the United States are in the midst of an unusually cold snap, which for some is one of the longest in decades. No state east of the Rocky Mountains will be immune from this crisis.
More than 200 daily low temperature records could be set or set by Monday as temperatures plunge more than 30 degrees below normal in some regions, especially in the south and east.
About 34 of those records (both low and low temperatures) are at risk in the Sunshine State on Sunday and Monday.
Extreme cold and freeze warnings were issued for much of the state Friday ahead of the worst of the cold snap.
Temperatures at or near freezing are expected for most of Florida by Sunday morning. This can burst unprotected water pipes and harm vulnerable crops, making it extremely dangerous, especially for those unaccustomed to the cold and without access to heating. Iguanas will also plummet from their perches.
Orlando could experience low temperatures below 30 degrees for the first time in eight years. Temperatures are expected to reach 24 degrees on Sunday morning, setting a new record for the day. Miami’s low temperature on Sunday morning is expected to be around 35 degrees, which will also be a new record low for the day, but still far from the record low of 28 degrees.
Wind chill (how the air actually feels on your body) will also drop to dangerously low levels by Sunday morning. Single-digit wind chills are expected south of the Orlando area. Such extreme wind chill can cause frostbite to develop within two hours.
But the biggest indicator of unusually cold temperatures is the low but non-zero chance of snow.
That opportunity will come in tandem with the coldest air pushing across the Gulf Coast and into western Florida late Saturday evening. As cold air blows over the warm waters of the Gulf Coast, a few “Gulf Effect” rain and snow showers are possible. This is a similar process to lake-effect snow, but less intense.
According to the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay, Florida’s best (but very low) chance of seeing snowflakes is from Orange County to the Tampa area.
Last weekend’s historic winter storm and subsequent bitter cold were responsible for at least 85 deaths in the United States, the Associated Press reported.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses across the South, hit by the cold snap, were without power as of Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. Some people went without it for six days after the storm.
Time is running out for crews to quickly restore power before more cold weather sets in. Tennessee and Mississippi, the states hardest hit by the storm, are expected to see the worst on Saturday and Sunday. Each state has tens of thousands of customers without power.
Nashville and Tupelo, Mississippi, are just two of more than 20 cities in the South that could set records for the lowest daytime temperatures on Saturday.
Temperatures are only expected to rise by about 20 degrees in Nashville, where the power infrastructure has been especially crippled, while temperatures in Tupelo could approach 26 degrees. The maximum temperature in both cities is 30 degrees below normal for this time of year.
Other areas hit by the storm’s ice are also at risk of freezing again.
Atlanta is also likely to only be in the mid-to-high 20s on Saturday. The predicted maximum temperature of 28 degrees will be the coldest day in the city since December 2022, when it hit a high of 27 degrees.
The cold weather hasn’t let up since last weekend’s storms first brought us cold weather. The period between last weekend and next week could be the longest freeze in Philadelphia in about 65 years.
The city is expected to remain below freezing (32 degrees Celsius) for up to 12 days into next week, the longest such period since 1961, when there were 15 consecutive days. The 10-day streak is the longest since 1989.
Further along Interstate 95, Washington, D.C., may experience the longest period of ice in more than 30 years. Forecasters say D.C. will experience 10 straight days of below- or below-freezing temperatures, ending early next week. This is the longest record in history, matching December 1989.
Other cities are still very cold, although not as cold as they have been in decades.
New York City could experience its longest period of subzero temperatures since 2018.
And Chicago, which is accustomed to freezing weather, is surprisingly on track to record even colder temperatures, with its longest period below 20 degrees since 2018.
The extreme cold will finally start to ease a little later next week, according to the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast.
