florida Florida Winter 2024-2025

[Visgoth]

The nice downpour across Central Florida during this dry winter this afternoon has been nice. Cold and more rain appear on the way.

[Matthew92]

Temp dropped from 50 to 35 in about 3 hours here. Pretty high wind gusts. This is going to be quite an event. Signal remains for snow/winter mix on Tues.

Brought a bunch of stuff in the garage and have orchids/tropicals/other in a plastic greenhouse with heater inside. With this being such a long duration cold event though I'm getting concerned about temps getting too low in the garage over time. In Dec '22 with the Christmas freeze, we had 3 days of low 20's/upper teens with temps not getting much above freezing each day and the temp dropped near freezing in the garage. Some crotons I had got damage and a few other things suffered. Maybe I'll have to run a heater in the garage.

[flplantguy]

Stayed above 40 last night, but the forecast for saturday morning is now 33. It keeps dropping and i expect a freeze, possibly a wet one with the rain in advance.  Unless that same rain holds enough energy to keep things above 32, but i think the rain in 2010 before the cold is what made that frost so bad.  If this is a bad winter and the rest are warmer that would be nice, but the avergae here is 29 so worse is possible for sure.  Drawn out chill events have warmer ultimate lows but do more damage, so maybe that means my yard could handle the 3 hour drop to 26 in jan 2022 easier than this.   

[Matthew92]

Got to 25 here. Still only 36 at 10am here 🥶 Low tonight will be mid or low 20's. Will possibly get a few inches of snow tomorrow. Snow cover could drop temps big time though. Will be preparing for teens. Forecast for my town is 20, but just a little to the north in Crestview forecast is 17 (yesterday it was saying 16): so I am definitely wary (my location sometimes matches Crestview's low temps).

[Looking Glass]

Down this way, it’s a cool rainy day with more of the same this week.  That storm front is moving SW to NE sweeping a little rain across the area with cool highs.  Not great weather for the irrigation manifold change I was planning on doing this week  

[JLM]

First Winter Storm Warning for NW FL in 11 years...expecting mostly snow here but some sleet could mix in at times. NWS forecasting 2-4 inches.

[kinzyjr]

4 hours ago, JLM said:

First Winter Storm Warning for NW FL in 11 years...expecting mostly snow here but some sleet could mix in at times. NWS forecasting 2-4 inches.

My hope to never hear of this warning again has been dashed.

6 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Got to 25 here. Still only 36 at 10am here 🥶 Low tonight will be mid or low 20's. Will possibly get a few inches of snow tomorrow. Snow cover could drop temps big time though. Will be preparing for teens. Forecast for my town is 20, but just a little to the north in Crestview forecast is 17 (yesterday it was saying 16): so I am definitely wary (my location sometimes matches Crestview's low temps).

Looks like Bob Sikes (KCEW) up in Crestview was right on your heels at 24.1F

8 hours ago, flplantguy said:

Stayed above 40 last night, but the forecast for saturday morning is now 33. It keeps dropping and i expect a freeze, possibly a wet one with the rain in advance.  Unless that same rain holds enough energy to keep things above 32, but i think the rain in 2010 before the cold is what made that frost so bad.  If this is a bad winter and the rest are warmer that would be nice, but the avergae here is 29 so worse is possible for sure.  Drawn out chill events have warmer ultimate lows but do more damage, so maybe that means my yard could handle the 3 hour drop to 26 in jan 2022 easier than this.  

It bottomed off ~46F here and 44.6F at the airport for the lowest hourly reading.  KLAL doesn't have a max/min record on NWS unfortunately.  The forecast here and across to Orlando has dropped 5F-7F, depending on which area and when the viewer last checked.  It's going to be an interesting week.

On 1/19/2025 at 12:11 AM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

This is the coolest Jan I recall in Orlando in 15 years and the next week will only be more significant departures from normal.  Whats odd is my plumeria are all sprouting new leaves. My coconut seems OK but several smaller ones around town are yellowing over the entire canopy. I've read 62 is a critical soil temp for them and I got 60F currently IMBY. I also do the traditional C9s and burlap. 

I've noticed that about some of the plumeria here as well.  Usually after they drop, they're bare for a while.  The coconuts here are doing alright considering the long cool is stressful on them.  Hopefully, February is milder than usual without any unwelcome surprises.  Stay warm this week!

On 1/19/2025 at 9:47 AM, HudsonBill said:

Im over here inland hudson my big big coconut is still growing still dark green but the older fronds have some browing yellowing and 3 of the oldest have completely died but ot honestly doesn't look much worse than beginning of winter. My 3 small coconuts look absolutely horrible but are still growing. Marked the spears a few days ago and all have grown between 1 inch and 1.5 inches.  

Hope that it doesn't get cold enough to do any serious damage to anything!

On 1/19/2025 at 4:04 PM, Visgoth said:

The nice downpour across Central Florida during this dry winter this afternoon has been nice. Cold and more rain appear on the way.

If only the rain came with temperatures in the low 80s... one can dream...

[Jimbean]

Currently 51F.  Forecast low for Saturday morning is now 38F with temperatures struggling to get above 60F for the entire week.  With those temperatures, my coconut palm isn't going to like the rain either.  This month has been the chilliest January since January of 2010.

[kinzyjr]

20 minutes ago, Jimbean said:

Currently 51F.  Forecast low for Saturday morning is now 38F with temperatures struggling to get above 60F for the entire week.  With those temperatures, my coconut palm isn't going to like the rain either.  This month has been the chilliest January since January of 2010.

It's been a touch milder there than here each night, as usual.  My Cocos are all a little sulky, but thankfully no killer cold just yet.

[JLM]

With the expected blanket of snow, i knew it was only a matter of time before the low for tomorrow night would tank in the forecast. Now expecting 17F tomorrow night. Queens wrapped/being wrapped, most other things protected already because of the temp hitting 24F this morning. Expecting 20F Wednesday night. Quite long duration hard freeze. Also, not expecting to rise above freezing at all tomorrow, so 24+ hours below freezing to top it all off.

[Jimbean]

Looking forward to that warm up. 

[Hombre de Palmas]

8 hours ago, JLM said:

With the expected blanket of snow, i knew it was only a matter of time before the low for tomorrow night would tank in the forecast. Now expecting 17F tomorrow night. Queens wrapped/being wrapped, most other things protected already because of the temp hitting 24F this morning. Expecting 20F Wednesday night. Quite long duration hard freeze. Also, not expecting to rise above freezing at all tomorrow, so 24+ hours below freezing to top it all off.

You have your hands full. My sympathies.

[Matthew92]

Ready to rock n' roll here with the snow. My weather app says possibly 5-8 inches now. Temps could be 17 deg tonight though or I wouldn't be surprised if colder. Temps in the teens tonight: the main things I'm worried about are my 2 orange trees (lost the grapefruit, Meyer lemon, and tangerine in the Christmas 2022 freeze which was a 3 day long duration freeze with a low of 18 and low 20's the other 2 nights). The remaining 2 oranges have some lingering trunk damage from that freeze and I'm worried if this ends up being a similar level event temp-wise, it could push them over the edge. I'll see if I can wrap the trunk or something and put a spotlight underneath. Also I'm a little worried about the Chamaedorea microspadix. I'm protecting the base so it can sprout back from the suckers if the top dies cause I don't have enough other materials to protect the trunks which are around 3-4ft high. However, many of the taller trunks did survive that Dec 2022 freeze which is very impressive. I wrapped the bud of my Philodendron selloum. Hopefully the trunk won't die though. It probably will still come back but it takes a lot longer if the trunk dies close to the ground. Some Callistemon viminalis 'slim' I have will probably take a hit too: but I think I'll wrap the base so it can sprout back easier if the top dies. 

[JLM]

3-7 inches forecasted by NWS, snow is falling and accumulating right now. Expecting 14F tonight, this might get sketchy.

[flplantguy]

The cold rain coming started early this morning but is taking a break now with clouds. I have a chest cold now so i cant do much out there, but i plan on putting peroxide down the crowns this evening and after the rain as a precaution.  Still forecasting 33 here saturday morning and frost.  I really hope the warmup lasts after.

[JLM]

The winter wonderland of Florida....

[Matthew92]

24 minutes ago, JLM said:

The winter wonderland of Florida....

Oh my goodness, you are so fortunate (assuming you're enjoying the snow). Currently stuck in a dry slot in the Ft. Walton Beach area. Only extremely light sleet at this point. That band really liked that Pensacola/Milton to Crestview corridor. If we're going to be getting palm killing temperatures, I'd at least like to see snow: hope it delivers here.

 

[AcerPALMatum]

2 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Oh my goodness, you are so fortunate (assuming you're enjoying the snow). Currently stuck in a dry slot in the Ft. Walton Beach area. Only extremely light sleet at this point. That band really liked that Pensacola/Milton to Crestview corridor. If we're going to be getting palm killing temperatures, I'd at least like to see snow: hope it delivers here.

 

I'm in the same area, we're getting some pretty heavy snow right now. Not loving the forecast low temperature tonight.

[SeanK]

Anyone in NoFL taking photos?

[Jimbean]

[kinzyjr]

We set an unenviable record today in Florida:

[HudsonBill]

19 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

We set an unenviable record today in Florida:

Yep seeing pics online of people with 7 inches and there is hours of snow to go. We could double or more the record. 

[Scott W]

59 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

We set an unenviable record today in Florida:

My brother is working in Pensacola and sent me these...

 

Youngest daughter is in Tallahassee and said it's starting there as well.

[JLM]

7 inches with another few hours of light to moderate snow to go. Might reach 8 inches or more! Unprecedented. Historic. Generational.

[Matthew92]

We finally got it near Valparaiso, FL. Behind you JLM probably 3-4 inches at this point but that's still enough. Still some more coming though! I'm enjoying it.

[Hombre de Palmas]

Truly historic weather in the Western Panhandle while I woke up to 56° F this AM.
Pretty boring weather in contrast but I'll take it.

[flplantguy]

36.5 this morning, warmer than forecast.  Hopefully that continues through the week.  No protection happening this time, im too sick to do it so they get to fend for themselves but i think the palms will be ok unless friday night is really bad.

[JLM]

12F this morning. Survival questionable on just about everything even with protection. Banana structure briefly went below freezing, lots of potted plants in there not gonna be happy.

[Meangreen94z]

29 minutes ago, JLM said:

12F this morning. Survival questionable on just about everything even with protection. Banana structure briefly went below freezing, lots of potted plants in there not gonna be happy.

I feel for you. It dropped to 3°F in my yard in 2021 and I’ve seen mid low teens the two following winters . This event was supposed to potentially do the same but it stayed east and along the coast. I’ve only seen 23°F 

[JJPalmer]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here after moving to Colorado. This event has been fascinating - especially from a microclimate perspective. New Orleans held up really well, but that is some phenomenally cold air all the way down to the coast. You can use the below link to access stations reporting to the NWS; sort by ‘minimum temperature’ and turn the density up if you want to view more stations.  Hope everyone is well!
 

https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?&zoom=8&scroll_zoom=true&center=39.59510684995191,-105.545654296875&basemap=ESRI Topographic&boundaries=false,true,false,false,false&hazard=true&hazard_type=all&hazard_opacity=60&obs=true&obs_type=weather&elements=temp,wind,gust&obs_popup=false&obs_density=1

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Forecast high today is 51 in Orlando but temps are dropping. Current 39F at noon.  They're gonna miss the forecast by a mile.

[computadude]

Min was 15F this morning. Queens were covered and heated with pipe heaters, I put a collar around the washies to protect their bud/trunk. I left the Chinese Fan palms completely unprotected. 

[HudsonBill]

20 minutes ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Forecast high today is 51 in Orlando but temps are dropping. Current 39F at noon.  They're gonna miss the forecast by a mile.

Yep there's next couple days are going to be horrible. guarantee we see temps in the middle to upper 20s. 

[flplantguy]

It all depends on clouds at this point and if/when they clear out or not. Saturday morning is the day i think we set our coldest low temp and 9b numbers here would be the norm for this. Colder even depending on details but a freeze is almost a guarantee now for much of central florida thats not in a warm microclimate.

[Jimbean]

1PM today hahaha.  Currently I'm at 49F as of 1:30PM

That said, my forecast now says that I'm staying above 40F for the duration of this cold spell.  

 

[flplantguy]

High today was 45 on the backyard sensor and 43.3 in front. It was warmer during the day with the Christmas freeze in 2022 but clouds have denied it this time. Those clouds will break by the weekend and sun comes back but the lows this winter have left their mark even if Saturday morning isnt freezing. 4 more days of this crap and them maybe spring, but there are indicators of another stretched polar vortex in Feb so maybe another one near V day.  By then sun angle will be getting better so thats the good part and will mitigate any extreme lows here.  News from west of us is not pretty but very educational, sorry everyone there took it hard this time.

[JLM]

Its still hard to comprehend this weather event. The previous state record for snowfall in Florida was 4 inches, and it got absolutely shattered, with Milton, FL and Jay, FL both having measurements of up to 10 inches. Pensacola airport recorded 8.9 inches, which destroyed Pensacola's previous record of 3 inches.

This event will also be a hard reset of palms along the Gulf Coast. Anything that is not hardy to zone 8a was toasted lastnight unless it was protected.

[Hombre de Palmas]

1 hour ago, Jimbean said:

1PM today hahaha.  Currently I'm at 49F as of 1:30PM

That said, my forecast now says that I'm staying above 40F for the duration of this cold spell.  

 

I was feeling pretty sanguine about Friday night but the latest guidance has me a bit more on edge for this part of the world.

I'm seeing forecasts anywhere from mid-30s to mid-40s, but with some wind, which may help disrupt frost formation . The trend is not our friend right now.

In the context of what has occurred in N Florida I must keep in perspective.

[Jimbean]

43 minutes ago, Hombre de Palmas said:

I was feeling pretty sanguine about Friday night but the latest guidance has me a bit more on edge for this part of the world.

I'm seeing forecasts anywhere from mid-30s to mid-40s, but with some wind, which may help disrupt frost formation . The trend is not our friend right now.

In the context of what has occurred in N Florida I must keep in perspective.

It looks like a high of 55F today, and for the next two mornings, lows of 40F.  If a low pressure developed north of the Bahamas, along with this system, it would have brought that cold air down the peninsula.  Yes it's chilly here, but the bulk of that polar air mass skirted the across north Florida and missed central and south Florida.  This could have been a lot worse for those south of the I-4 corridor.  I actually feel pretty lucky at this point to have skated by with a low of 39.2F so far this season.  

[Hombre de Palmas]

Hopefully that is the scenario and it's looking like the Peninsula is moving toward a warmer February and then march on to March!