The cold front that came through last night and brought rain and thunderstorms has moved well east of Florida this evening.  We’ve had light rain for much of the day moving in off of the Gulf waters. 

  • Colder tonight
  • Sunny but cool Sunday
  • Warmer Monday afternoon

The light rain continues to decrease and should be over this evening. Decreasing clouds this evening and clearing overnight. It will be cold with the wind still up for the evening. 

Overnight lows will drop to near freezing in our Northern Counties and into the 40s over most of the rest of the area.

Sunday will be a nice day after a chilly start. It will still be cool with highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s in spite of the sunshine.

With light winds and clear skies, temperatures will drop off quickly again on Sunday night. By Monday morning we could be back to near freezing in our northern counties with more 40s over the rest of the area. At least winds will be light.

The warm-up will be well underway on Monday with highs back into the mid 60s. By Tuesday we should be back into the 70s with increasing winds ahead of the next cold front.

That front won’t be as cold and it should be dry, it should swing through around Tuesday night or Wednesday and cool us off briefly again around mid-week.

Advisories and Watches  

A Wind Chill Advisory is posted for late Saturday Night into early Sunday morning for:

Polk County

Inland Pasco County

Inland Hillsborough County

Inland Manatee County

Including the cities of Lakeland, Winter Haven, Dade City, Zephyrhills, Brandon, Plant City, Sun City Center, Parrish, and Lakewood Ranch

Wind chill readings are expected to drop to the lower 30s for 3 or 4 hours.  Actual temperatures should be in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

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A Freeze Watch is issued for late Sunday Night into Monday morning for:

Citrus County

Hernando County

Including the cities of Yankeetown, Crystal River, Homosassa, Hernando Beach, Bayport, Inverness, Brooksville, and Spring Hill

Temperatures are expected to drop to 29-33 degrees for 3 to 4 hours late Sunday Night into early Monday Morning.

Freezing temperatures can harm vulnerable plants, animals and those sensitive to cold.

A Freeze Watch means sub-freezing temperatures are possible. These conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation.

Snow in Florida

Snow is the last thing we think about in Florida, and many current residents escaped the north to get away from snow.

But in 1977, we actually saw a few inches in Orlando and Tampa, and since then we've seen flurries and "ocean-effect" snow in various parts of the state.

Here are a few notable dates from the last 50 years:

  • Jan. 8-9, 2010 -- Reports of light snow along the I-4 corridor from Tampa to Melbourne, along with widespread reports of sleet and freezing rain.
  • Dec. 28, 2010 -- Light snow reported at Tampa Executive Airport following a rare freezing fog event.
  • Jan. 18, 1977 -- A combination of weather systems created an arctic blast that sent cold temperatures all the way down to Miami, where it snowed. Orlando and Tampa saw as much as six inches of rain in some isolated spots, though one to two inches was more common.

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