Florida Winter 2022-2023

[RedRabbit]

7 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Here are a few microclimates I’ll be watching to see how they hold up:

- Anna Maria Island… Evidence of 10b/11a?

- St. Pete: Venetian Isles, Tropical Shores… How solid might they be at 10b?

- West side of Lake Tarpon… More evidence it’s a solid 10a.

- Tampa: Davis Island, Ballast Point… Warmest spot in Tampa?

- Orlando: Belle Isle… More evidence it’s really 10a.

- Winter Garden… Possibly 10a due to the lake?

- Jacksonville, east side of St. John’s river… Solid 9b?

- St. Simons Island, East Beach… Solid 9b?

- North Captiva / Useppa (if any stations are left)… 11a?

 

Initial observations:

AMI: Low 40s, looks consistent with 10b and not 11a.

St. Pete: Neighborhoods on the bay are around 38f so not bad but not exceptional. St. Pete Beach is about the same. 

West side of Lake Tarpon: Can’t tell, no stations on the lake. Generally west of Lake Tarpon is warmer though throughout Palm Harbor.

Orlando, Belle Isle: One sensor is 34, another at 32. Not convincing either way, maybe low end 10a.

Winter Garden: Several sensors at 34 and a couple further from the lake around 32. They may really have a good microclimate there.

Jacksonville, east side of St. John’s River: About 28f, with some stations colder. Probably lower end 9b but not a great night. 

St. Simons: Coastal Georgia is all in the low 20s, about 5f colder than Jax Beach. Not at all consistent with 9b tonight as known 9b Florida locations are up to 10f warmer.

North Captiva: 46f last I checked, tied with Marco Island for the warmest spot on the west coast. The evidence of an 11a west coast microclimate mounts!

 

Edit: Note these are not low temperatures, they’re current temperatures around 5am. I’m listing them just to compare different areas on a relative basis.

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by RedRabbit

[JLM]

As of 5:10 AM CST, the temperature is 19F.

[IHB1979]

6:12 AM, 36F - Indian Harbour Beach, FL

[Matthew92]

Ooff...  I went outside a little bit ago to put extra covers on some die-back tropicals (some that function as perennials here: such as Philodendron selloum, Princess Flower...) just to reduce the amount of dieback or save them. I also put extra protection at the base of my Chamaedorea microspadix. They have about a 3 ft. tall stem and are just developing more pups at the base: so even if the above ground part is damaged, it can hopefully come back from the base better. 

It was brutal out there: the wind is driving these temps into every nook and cranny. I had on some latex gloves but within minutes my fingers literally hurt: ears numb... 

For it to get this cold while it is still windy/not in a radiational event speaks to the potency of this airmass and weather system.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Matthew92

[Can't think of username]

Welp poor FSU Tallahassee, they're at -7.2C at the moment and that's the coldest temperature they've ever had since recording began in June 2014.😱

[Jimbean]

For my area, my lows were the following:

FIT campus: 34.5F, 34.3F, 34F, and 34F

Closest station a few blocks away from me reported 35.8F

Turkey Creek: 34.5F, 34F, and 34.2F

Closest station to me on the Indian River Lagoon reported a low of 35.2F

Overall the low here came one degree lower than the National Weather Service forecast.

[Brian M]

Bottomed out at 25.2F here in Jax Beach. Hit 32 at 12:35 this morning and supposed to stay below until around 11am. No frost though! 

Had time to pick some oranges yesterday though so all is good!

Edited December 24, 2022 by Brian M

[Walt]

I put fresh batteries in my La Crosse wireless temperature station and remote sensor last night. I bottomed out at 32.3 degrees at 7:15 a.m. (forecast called for 32, so right on the money for me). Up in town at Lake Placid Elementary School's WeatherUnderground's STEM weather station recorded 35.8 degrees, mainly due to the higher elevation than my place that sets about 80 feet lower.

[Matthew92]

39 minutes ago, Can't think of username said:

Welp poor FSU Tallahassee, they're at -7.2C at the moment and that's the coldest temperature they've ever had since recording began in June 2014.😱

I think it's the advective nature of this freeze that's deadening all these microclimates...

[Matthew92]

18 deg F and still a little windy. 

[Merlyn]

I just woke up a few minutes ago and am thankful to see no frost!  It bottomed out at 27.7F here in the backyard, and due to the breeze there's no frost and the front yard is only about 0.5F warmer than the backyard.  When it was totally still last winter, the backyard was a cold sink and ended up about 3F colder than the front yard.  My yard is consistent with nearby sensors on the NWS page https://www.weather.gov/wrh/

As is normal, my yard is 2-3F colder than the official area forecast.  That's based on the Sanford Airport.  The forecast for today is 46, dropping to 29 tonight, and only getting to 47 tomorrow.  Sunday night might just get to freezing with a forecast of 34.  The wind is supposed to stay consistent at about 5-7mph.  Hopefully this'll keep the frost at bay!

 

[Jimbean]

Downtown Orlando reported a low of 29.9F

A UCF station reported 29.8F

 

[Jimbean]

Vero Beach Police Department read 36.8F

Tradition at Port St. Lucie read 37.2F (That's west of I-95)

One station in Port St. Lucie between I-95 and the turnpike read 37F.

One station in Port St. Lucie between US-1 and the Indian River Lagoon read 37.6F

[Jimbean]

So in this cold event, using downtown Orlando as comparison, Daytona and UCF were about the same, my location was 4.5F warmer, Vero Beach was about 7F warmer, and Port St. Lucie was about 7.5F warmer.

[ruskinPalms]

Got down to about 33 to 34 last night. 32 was forecasted by NWS who has the next two nights at 33 and 36 with clouds around which should help limit the cooling. 

[ruskinPalms]

This event could have been a lot worse had it happened a month later after the gulf and Atlantic has more time to cool down.

[D. Morrowii]

The low here at my place in MI was 33.8F between 7 and 8 this morning. Thats around 2-3 deg higher than was predicted. Climbing out now toward the forecast high of 47. The next 2 nights are forecasted to have lows of 30 and 38. Not supposed to get above 50 until Monday.

[ruskinPalms]

Little coconut trying to catch a few morning rays, Heliconia in the coldest part of my yard not melted with bonus baby Chambeyronia in there if you can find it 😉

[pj_orlando_z9b]

My station in Belle Isle dipped to 31.3F at 8 AM this morning. I was 32.0 or lower from 6:30-8:30, so 2 hours. When I went to bed, air was 36F, my coconut structure was 39F and went to 52F when I put the propane heater on (which I left on all night).

I was warmer than downtown which hit 30F. Looking at wunderground, this advective air was true N-S. 

[Can't think of username]

1 hour ago, Matthew92 said:

I think it's the advective nature of this freeze that's deadening all these microclimates...

Yep. The positive side to this is that as I expected, the extremely radiation vulnerable places like Archbold Biological Station and Brooksville are getting off easy.
Brooksville is only forecast for -4C tonight which is exactly as cold as expected, and Archbold Biological Station may not record a frost (forecast for 1C tonight and it doesn't appear they got one this morning by virtue of their low latitude).

[Jimbean]

6 minutes ago, Can't think of username said:

Yep. The positive side to this is that as I expected, the extremely radiation vulnerable places like Archbold Biological Station and Brooksville are getting off easy.
Brooksville is only forecast for -4C tonight which is exactly as cold as expected, and Archbold Biological Station may not record a frost (forecast for 1C tonight and it doesn't appear they got one this morning by virtue of their low latitude).

It also didn't punch very far south.  The west and Treasure coasts also got off relatively easy.  Tonight however will be more convective, depending on the cloud cover.

[Can't think of username]

12 minutes ago, Jimbean said:

It also didn't punch very far south.  The west and Treasure coasts also got off relatively easy.  Tonight however will be more convective, depending on the cloud cover.

No wonder tropical Florida got off so easy, it's all above normal (2C or so) for the coldest temperature of the season.

Cloud cover is something to closely watch, it appears based on the present forecast that Archbold will be clouding over just when the wind slows. Hopefully it will stay clouded over to nuke radiation.

[ruskinPalms]

I was down in Punta Gorda yesterday, this a pic of this cold front approaching over charlotte harbor. 

[Merlyn]

I'm waffling on whether I should take off the cardboard boxes from a few of my palms.  Theoretically the temp inside them is a bit warmer than the outdoor temp.  I just checked a couple of them with an optical thermometer, and the temp inside the box is 3-5F warmer than the immediate surroundings.  It's only 37-40F here at the moment, but the surface temperature on plants in the sun is more like 50-60F. 

So...do I take the boxes off during the day and put them back on in the evening, or just leave them in boxes until Monday morning?  It seems that they are warmer in the box, but get zero light.  There's risk of damaging fronds by taking the boxes on and off, so as long as the lack of sunlight isn't an issue maybe I just leave them on for the next 2 days?

[Jimbean]

2 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I'm waffling on whether I should take off the cardboard boxes from a few of my palms.  Theoretically the temp inside them is a bit warmer than the outdoor temp.  I just checked a couple of them with an optical thermometer, and the temp inside the box is 3-5F warmer than the immediate surroundings.  It's only 37-40F here at the moment, but the surface temperature on plants in the sun is more like 50-60F. 

So...do I take the boxes off during the day and put them back on in the evening, or just leave them in boxes until Monday morning?  It seems that they are warmer in the box, but get zero light.  There's risk of damaging fronds by taking the boxes on and off, so as long as the lack of sunlight isn't an issue maybe I just leave them on for the next 2 days?

At those temperatures and with the sun shining I think you're fine to take them off until tonight. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Jimbean

[RedRabbit]

1 hour ago, Jimbean said:

It also didn't punch very far south.  The west and Treasure coasts also got off relatively easy.  Tonight however will be more convective, depending on the cloud cover.

I noticed this too. Inland Sarasota County should have been below freezing, but seemed to stay around 36-37f when I checked at 5. That’s pretty unusual, I guess the coldest air just didn’t make it that far south this time.

[JLM]

Bottomed out at 18F here. Expecting some really dead looking Queens sooner rather than later. The growth point and trunk was protected so they should live.

[JLM]

Statewide low temperatures:



Tampa:



Orlando:



Jacksonville:



Tallahassee:



Panama City:



Pensacola:



Panhandle:



NE FL:



Central FL:



South FL:



FL Keys:

[Estlander]

3 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

I think it's the advective nature of this freeze that's deadening all these microclimates...

Yes, only around a 2 degree difference between coastal microclimates and the mainland this time. Recorded a low of 20.5F/-6.4C last night. 

[ruskinPalms]

Pinellas county doesn’t seem to do good with an advective event with predominantly north winds. Manatee and sarasota counties did much better than expected as long as downwind of Tampa bay but this was the get out of jail free card since the bay and gulf had not been subjected to a real cold front this year up until now. Hope for a long period of warmth after this to recharge the heat in the gulf and bay (and the Atlantic for that matter) 🤞

[JLM]

Damages from the cold so far:
Pygmy dates are not appreciative, likely defoliation and probably death as well for both. They were unprotected because i forgot about them.

Bottle palm was a goner well before tonight. All the fronds were already dead anyways. I did not protect it. Dead.

Citrus tree leaves are all folded, probable defoliation. No protection.

Majesty palms did not get protected even though i said i would. If they die, oh well. They are already discolored and will probably soon defoliate.

Other things: My red maple tree still had some leaves, they are shriveled. Oaks dont look very happy either.

[Bazza]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

I'm waffling on whether I should take off the cardboard boxes from a few of my palms.  Theoretically the temp inside them is a bit warmer than the outdoor temp.  I just checked a couple of them with an optical thermometer, and the temp inside the box is 3-5F warmer than the immediate surroundings.  It's only 37-40F here at the moment, but the surface temperature on plants in the sun is more like 50-60F. 

So...do I take the boxes off during the day and put them back on in the evening, or just leave them in boxes until Monday morning?  It seems that they are warmer in the box, but get zero light.  There's risk of damaging fronds by taking the boxes on and off, so as long as the lack of sunlight isn't an issue maybe I just leave them on for the next 2 days?

 

I wouldn't expect there to be any harm in leaving them covered. Less work involved that way too. Palms are tough little rascals. They won't suffer from a lack of sunlight for a few days at all, IMHO...

[JLM]

4 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I just woke up a few minutes ago and am thankful to see no frost!  It bottomed out at 27.7F here in the backyard, and due to the breeze there's no frost and the front yard is only about 0.5F warmer than the backyard.  When it was totally still last winter, the backyard was a cold sink and ended up about 3F colder than the front yard.  My yard is consistent with nearby sensors on the NWS page https://www.weather.gov/wrh/

As is normal, my yard is 2-3F colder than the official area forecast.  That's based on the Sanford Airport.  The forecast for today is 46, dropping to 29 tonight, and only getting to 47 tomorrow.  Sunday night might just get to freezing with a forecast of 34.  The wind is supposed to stay consistent at about 5-7mph.  Hopefully this'll keep the frost at bay!

 

When on your local NWS homepage (NWS Melbourne), you can click on the little alert map and it will pull up a point click forecast. You can move the map around to find your location and then click, and it will give your forecast for your specific location.

If you have trouble finding your house, which i dont expect to be the case, you can always search your zip code and it should bring you pretty close.

If you dont want to do the point click forecast, theres another good way to see your NWS forecast and overall, this is a better visualization. On any NWS page, find the "Forecast" tab at the top, hover over it and hit "Graphical". This will bring up a big map of the US and it will likely be set on "Maximum Temperature". You can click that and it will open up a dropdown menu, and you can look at whatever you want to look at. Hit "Minimum Temperature" and zoom in to your location. This way you can see not only your own forecasted temp, but also surrounding areas. 

No matter what you decide to do, hopefully you will find much more accurate forecasts! 

[Looking Glass]

27 minutes ago, JLM said:

Damages from the cold so far:
Pygmy dates are not appreciative, likely defoliation and probably death as well for both. They were unprotected because i forgot about them.

Bottle palm was a goner well before tonight. All the fronds were already dead anyways. I did not protect it. Dead.

Citrus tree leaves are all folded, probable defoliation. No protection.

Majesty palms did not get protected even though i said i would. If they die, oh well. They are already discolored and will probably soon defoliate.

Other things: My red maple tree still had some leaves, they are shriveled. Oaks dont look very happy either.

I think your oaks and maples will be perfectly happy in those temps… bottles on the other hand, not so much.  

Down this way, we hit the 40s last night.  Today and tomorrow are highs in the 50s only.  That’s bitter cold for here.  I actually broke out the 9 inch space heater for under the desk today.   In the 13 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never once turned the heat on indoors.  It still stays 70+ degrees indoors during the brief cold snaps.  

“Merry Christmas Palms” on this gloomy, chilly day….   Tis the season.  


 

in a few days, it will be 80 degrees again. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

2 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I noticed this too. Inland Sarasota County should have been below freezing, but seemed to stay around 36-37f when I checked at 5. That’s pretty unusual, I guess the coldest air just didn’t make it that far south this time.

Were there clouds? Looks like temps align a bit with satellite imagery at 8 AM. I don't believe this arctic air plummeted south like others in the past though. 

[Can't think of username]

2 hours ago, JLM said:

Statewide low temperatures:



Tampa:



Orlando:



Jacksonville:



Tallahassee:



Panama City:



Pensacola:



Panhandle:



NE FL:



Central FL:



South FL:



FL Keys:

So I was right! No frost yet for Archbold, I see a 1C low for them on the map.

[bubba]

The Heater:

https://seatemperature.net/current/united-states/palm-beach-shores-florida-united-states-sea-temperature

[bubba]

Water Temperatures/Gulfstream:

https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap?lat=26.715&lon=-80.053

[bubba]

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KFLPALMB381

[bubba]

To see vivid picture of sea temperatures surrounding the state of Florida, go to Layers and under Tropical Storm heading pick Sea Surface Temperatures. The Gulfstream make’s itself known in South Florida on days like Christmas Eve Day, December 24, 2022