SOUTH FLORIDA COLD - RECORDS

[Cristóbal]

From weather underground:

Public Information Statement

Statement as of 12:00 PM EST on January 11, 2010

... Historic cold weekend in South Florida...

Temperatures over the weekend and early Monday morning plunged to

levels not seen in 20 years over South Florida in the wake of the

Arctic cold front which blasted through the region early Saturday

morning. Temperatures remained at or below 50 degrees for more than

48 consecutive hours, finally rising above 50 during the late

morning to midday hours Monday. Although no records are kept of

consecutive number of hours at or below 50 degrees, it is likely

that this streak is among the longest on record.

Following is a daily temperature breakdown:

Saturday January 9th:

High temperatures on Saturday were recorded around midnight, with

temperatures dropping throughout much of the day under gray, rainy

skies and blustery northwest winds. Daytime temperatures were in the

upper 30s to mid 40s over all of South Florida with a persistent

light rain falling.

A few reports of very light sleet and snow flurries were received

from parts of Southeast Florida as the precipitation came to an end

Saturday evening. However, analysis of temperature profiles around

the time of the reports suggest that it is highly unlikely that

anything other than light rain fell across most of South Florida.

Areas around and primarily west of Lake Okeechobee probably saw a

very brief mix of sleet on Saturday afternoon as the air was

slightly colder in that region compared to points farther south.

The cold afternoon temperatures on Saturday set the stage for a very

cold night across all of South Florida.

Sunday January 10th

This was the coldest day in virtually all of South Florida since

December 24, 1989. Low temperatures ranged from the upper 20s in

portions of Glades and Hendry counties to between 30-32 degrees over

the rest of the area mainly north of a Naples to West Palm Beach

line, including the east and south side of Lake Okeechobee. Lows

ranged between 33-36 degrees over most of metropolitan Broward and

Miami-Dade counties as well as southern Palm Beach County and the

Marco Island area along the Gulf Coast. Some sections of the eastern

Metro area, including the beaches, dipped to right around the

freezing mark (31-32 degrees). Although these freezing temperatures

over the eastern Metro areas were recorded at unofficial sites,

enough locations reported the temperatures as to make it quite

plausible. Unofficial readings of 32 degrees right to the beaches

would be the first time these areas have seen freezing temperatures

since December 25, 1989. A record low of 35 degrees was tied in

Miami. The previous record was set in 1970. Highs only reached the

mid 40s to right at 50 degrees, setting or tying daily low maximum

temperature records at the four primary climate sites in south

florida:

Miami 48 (53 in 1970)

fort lauderdale49 (50 in 1970)

west Palm beach50 (50 in 1970)

naples48 (51 in 1970)

Monday January 11th

Another morning of freezing temperatures was observed across South

Florida (figure 1). A hard freeze (temperatures 28 or below for 4

hours) occurred over much of Glades, Hendry and northern interior

sections of Collier County as temperatures dropped into the mid 20s

over this region. Palmdale and Airglades Airport west of Clewiston

recorded lows of 25 degrees, with an unofficial report in Moore

Haven as low as 24 degrees. Freezing temperatures (at or below 32

degrees) were observed all the way to the southwest Gulf Coast where

Naples regional Airport dropped to 32 degrees and an unofficial

report from Marco Island also showed 32 degrees. Freezing

temperatures covered virtually all of the interior areas, and for

the second day in a row extended well into the Metro East Coast.

Areas mainly near and west of the Turnpike in Palm Beach, Broward

and Miami-Dade counties dropped to at or below 32 degrees, with far

southwest portions of Miami-Dade as low as the upper 20s as

evidenced by tamiami airport's low of 26 degrees. Closer to the

immediate East Coast, lows were in the mid 30s.

Here are daily record lows broken for January 11th:

West Palm Beach 33 (34 in 1927)

Miami 36 (37 in 1927)

In addition to new daily records being set, records for longest

number of consecutive days with lows at or below 45 degrees have

been set in West Palm Beach and Naples (10 days each). At Miami and

Fort Lauderdale, the number of consecutive days with lows below 50

degrees is up to 10 days. This is approaching the all-time recorded

streak of lows below 50 degrees (13 for Miami and 12 for fort

lauderdale).

Another night of freezing temperatures is expected tonight in the

Lake Okeechobee region, with temperatures expected to stay above

freezing elsewhere. A gradual warm-up will continue through the

week, with highs finally reaching the 70s by Thursday.

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

Cristobal's report is about as accurate as I've seen. In a sentence, it was pretty lousy here.

BTW: Key West reached 42 F. Monday AM, which was only 1 degree F. higher than its all time lowest temperature set in the 1800's!

Pretty amazing cold wave! (Thanks! Cristobal)

Dr. Paul