How much rain will Florida get with this weekend’s cold front?

(Image credit: NWS-Tallahassee)

Will the Florida peninsula finally get some rain on Sunday? It appears so, but don’t look for any drought-busting totals.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center is calling for some hefty totals in the panhandle and in North Florida — as has been the case over the last month — with dwindling amounts as you move south toward Miami and the Keys.

Tallahassee, which will get the system on Saturday, is looking for around a quarter of an inch with some strong storms to boot, according to the National Weather Service office there. The WPC is a little more generous, predicting up to an inch in parts of the central panhandle through Monday, up to a half-inch in North Florida and a tenth to a quarter-inch in Central Florida.

(Image credit: NOAA/ WPC)

Folks in South Florida will be lucky to get their windshields wet, according to the WPC three-day forecast.

The National Weather Service in Miami, however, says there’s a 10 percent chance that South Florida could get a half-inch of rain, or more, through Sunday night. More likely, though, forecasters said the southeast coast will get less than a tenth of an inch, with up to a quarter of an inch falling northwest of Lake Okeechobee.

Temperature-wise, the cold weather after the front rolls through will only last a day, forecasters said, since high pressure behind the front will slide quickly into the Atlantic and winds by Tuesday will be off the warm water.

There’s another chance for rain toward the end of next week, forecasters said, in association with yet another cold front.

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RISKY WEATHER: All the weather news this time of the year is about cold fronts. But the National Weather Service ended its Severe Weather Awareness Week with a post about excessive heat hazards. The week kicked off Monday with information on lightning threats; Tuesday covered marine hazards; Wednesday looked at tornadoes and thunderstorms; and Thursday discussed hurricane threats. Friday’s posts also call attention to extreme cold and wildfires. (Image credit: NWS-Melbourne)

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Monday cold snap will be short-lived, forecasters say

(Image credit: NWS-Tallahassee)

The polar vortex is coming! The polar vortex is coming!

So says The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, which published a story Tuesday about an upcoming “severe and punishing winter weather pattern” that will likely result in snow and bitter cold for the eastern U.S. starting as early as next week and continuing into the middle of February.

Meteorologists are saying that the vortex “broke apart” around the first of the year, and that tends to send temperatures tumbling in the lower latitudes as the atmospheric flow adjusts.

The first blast of Arctic air is due to hit the Southeastern U.S. on Sunday and Monday, and some freezing temperatures are possible in North Florida and even on the Nature Coast north of Tampa.

However, National Weather Service forecasters said Wednesday that the cold snap will be “short-lived,” since the high pressure system responsible for the frigid outbreak will move quickly to the east, pulling mild air off the Atlantic and moderating temperatures around the Florida peninsula by Tuesday.

The upcoming weekend looks seasonably warm, ditto for the final weekend of the month, and it remains to be seen how cold temps will get in Florida after the next front rolls through after that.

Wednesday morning temperatures were nippy, but generally less than 10 degrees below normal. Apparent lows: West Palm Beach and Naples, 48; Miami, 53; Fort Lauderale, 51; 60 in Key West but in the 50s in the Middle and Upper Keys.

It was in the low 50s in Miami-Dade County; mid-40s on the southwest coast; low- to mid-40s in Central Florida; and 30s in North Florida and the panhandle.

Highs Saturday should be in the upper 70s in South Florida, the mid-70s in Central Florida and the low- to mid-70s in North Florida, forecasters said.

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SPACE: THE FINAL (WINE MAKING) FRONTIER: The country of Georgia, which lays claim to being the oldest wine making region on Earth, is making plans to open up shop on another planet — Mars. Scientists are trying to figure out which grapes would grow best in a controlled environment that would still involve harsh weather conditions and radiation bombardment.

The goal is to have a wine making system in place if SpaceX founder Elon Musk follows through on a plan to undertake a manned mission to the planet in 2024.

The early conclusion is that white wine would work best on Mars. “Whites tend to be more resistant to viruses,” Levan Ujmajuridze, director of Georgia’s vineyard Laboratory, told The Washington Post. “So, I’d imagine they’ll do well against radiation, too. Their skin could reflect it.”

Which means that the first Martian settlers will have to live on chicken and fish in order to avoid committing a dining faux pas.

Holiday weekend cold front will be ‘particularly intense,’ forecasters say

TANGLED UP IN BLUE: Most of the nation, from the Rocky Mountain States to the East Coast, is forecast to get socked by the winter’s coldest temperatures this weekend. (Image credit: NOAA/ CPC)

The upcoming holiday weekend will be capped off by some of the coldest air of the season in Florida, according to the National Weather Service and commercial forecasting services.

Monday morning lows could plunge into the 20s in North Florida, with freezing temperatures possible on the Nature Coast and inland Central Florida, forecasters said, and even coastal areas of South Florida will likely see early morning lows in the 40s.

The worst of the cold-snap looks short-lived, but another blast of Arctic air may be on the horizon for the last weekend of the month and the beginning of February.

This is the scenario that the long-range forecast models have been predicting for the last 10 days or so, and forecasters note that the outlooks will be further refined as we close in on the weekend.

While Florida gets a shot of no-fooling-around winter weather, the Upper Midwest will be in the deep freeze, with below zero temperatures in the forecast for the northern Plains States, and even the Great Lakes States.

Here are the Tuesday morning forecast discussions from the National Weather Service concerning Sunday’s cold front around Florida:

Miami: “Colder temperatures and a dry air mass arrive behind the front as a strong high pressure builds over the eastern half of the US. How low temperatures drop will become more clear as we approach next week.”

Melbourne: Maximum temperatures expected on Sunday have been trending down, with lows below 40 for northern areas of East-Central Florida lower- to mid-40s farther south, “with low wind chill readings likely throughout.”

Tampa: “… will need to monitor model temperature trends closely in the coming days, but if current model solutions hold then some near freezing temperatures will be possible across portions of the Nature Coast by early Monday morning and again Tuesday morning with some upper 30 degree readings extending south into central interior zones, so stay tuned to later forecasts.”

Jacksonville: “This cold front seems to be particularly intense, with temperatures dropping down to freezing levels on Monday, with apparent temperatures dropping down into the 20s due to winds 10 to 15 mph and gusty blowing through the forecast area early Monday morning.”

The National Weather Service is predicting Sunday night/ Monday morning lows around 50 on South Florida’s East Coast, but Weather Underground forecast temperatures are about 5 degrees colder, not only in South Florida but across the peninsula. Ditto for AccuWeather.

Weather Underground forecast temps for Monday: Orlando: low 35, high 51; Jacksonville and Gainesville, 27 and 47; Lake City, 26 and 46; Tampa, 36 and 52; Miami, 47 and 63; West Palm Beach, 43 and 55; and Key West, 57 and 63.

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK: Monday’s posts by the National Weather Service discussed lightning hazards Florida, and Tuesday’s looks marine hazards, including rip currents. (Image credits: NWS-Key West, above; NWS-Melbourne, below)

One more beach day before new cold front smacks down Florida temps

Florida temperatures were nudged back into the 80s on Saturday by sunshine and warm winds off the Atlantic, and another mild beach day was on tap for Sunday.

Naples reached 81 and Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Pompano Beach and Punta Gorda all reached 80.

It was 82 at Immokalee and 83 at Zoo Miami, but the nation’s high was in McAllen, Texas — 86 degrees. The nation’s low on Saturday was in Berlin, New Hampshire: – 19 degrees.

A cold front was forecast by the National Weather Service to slide down the Florida peninsula Sunday night, bringing slightly below normal temperatures through the work week.

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CLOSE SHAVE: An asteroid came within 9,000 miles of Earth last Tuesday, January 8 — but it wasn’t discovered by scientists until nine hours after it had passed. Luckily, it was a small space rock — up to 6.8 feet in diameter — so it probably wouldn’t have caused damage if it had collided with the atmosphere. It was dubbed Asteroid 2019 AS5.

“The asteroid was closer to our planet than many satellites,” science writer Tony Phillips said on Spaceweather.com.

“If the 1 to 2 meter-wide space rock had hit Earth (and it almost did) it would have caused a brilliant fireball in the atmosphere with sonic booms and scattered meteorites on the ground–but no serious damage.”

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ANOTHER LOOK AT THE CRYSTAL BALL: The Climate Prediction Center releases its long-range forecast for the rest of the winter and early spring on Thursday. Long-range models continue to call for a cold end of January and early February in the eastern U.S., including Florida.

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Hurricane Irma approaches the Florida Keys on September 10, 2017. (Credit: NOAA)

WEATHER AWARENESS: Florida gets its share of severe weather — not just hurricanes but tornadoes, flooding rains and beach and off-shore hazards such as rip currents. It is also the lightning capital of the world.

All these hazards will be discussed as the week progresses with the National Weather Service’s Florida Severe Weather Awareness Week. It kicks off Monday with information on lightning threats; Tuesday covers marine hazards; Wednesday will look at tornadoes and thunderstorms; Thursday’s topic will be hurricanes and flooding; and Friday will cover heat, cold and wildfires.

“Fortunately, 2018 was a relatively inactive year in South Florida as far as large, high impact weather hazards is concerned,” forecasters noted in a news release. “Nevertheless, even small-scale weather events such as local severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and rip currents occur every year, resulting in deaths, injuries, and property damage. Therefore, weather awareness and safety measure are always good to have in mind and put into practice.”

Kudos to the National Weather Service for sticking to the schedule and putting this out despite the shutdown.

After mid-week chill, close to 80 by Sunday, forecasters say

Central Florida Thursday morning temps were “a tad chilly,” the National Weather Service said on Facebook. (Image credit: NWS-Melbourne)

“Okay, campers, rise and shine and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s cold out there today!” (Yup, that’s from the movie Groundhog Day — Punxsutawney Phil’s mid-winter extravaganza is just 23 days away.)

Thursday morning temperatures were uniformly cool over almost the entire state, with upper 30s to low 40s stretching from the panhandle over to Jacksonville, and down into interior areas of Central and even South Florida. Exceptions were the southeastern coast and the Keys.

It was a little warmer in the Keys …. (Image credit: NWS-Key West)

It was in the mid-50s in the Upper Keys and the low 60s in the Lower Keys, including 62 in Key West, according to Weather Underground.

It was around 50 in the Palm Beaches, the low 50s in the Fort Lauderdale area and most of Miami-Dade County, with mid-50s in Miami Beach.

Upper 40s to near 50 covered Southwest Florida but there were lots of the low 40s in interior portions of South Florida.

An observer just outside Okeechobee reported a temperature of 31, but in nearby Sebring it was 46.

Mid-40s stretched from the Tampa area over to the Treasure Coast, and it was 45 in Orlando.

There were a few upper 30s in North-Central Florida 30 in the Lake City area and upper 30s to low 40s in the Jacksonville area.

North Florida wind chills had a bit of a bite on Thursday morning. (Credit: NWS-Jacksonville)

The National Weather Service reported that the temperature dipped to 49 just before sunrise in West Palm Beach, which will be the likely low for the day — that’s 8 degrees below average. Miami International Airport reported 53 and Fort Lauderdale fell to 52.

A warm-up is in the works for the weekend — the forecast high in South Florida on Sunday is around 80 — before another cold front sweeps through and knocks temperatures back to slightly below normal again for the first part of next week. Tampa and Orlando should be in the upper 70s on Sunday, slightly cooler in Daytona Beach.

The weather pattern over the next 10 days will be pretty mundane for mid-winter, according to the National Weather Service. No great warm-ups, no drastic cold snaps. Forecasters Thursday morning were predicting a “relatively zonal mid and upper-level flow with periodic shortwave troughs associated with the northern branch of the jet stream occasionally pushing cold fronts through the eastern [U.S., which] will continue into next week.”

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DROUGHT UPDATE: Moderate Drought conditions expanded again to include all of the southern Florida peninsula, including Mainland Monroe and most of Collier County, as well as southern Miami-Dade County, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday.

Abnormally Dry conditions encompass a swath of Central Florida, including Lee County on the West Coast and areas north and west of Lake Okeechobee.

Some areas of South Florida area already almost an inch behind normal precipitation levels for this point in January — 10 days into the month.

30s expected in North Florida with weekend warm-up in forecast

NO DROUGHT RELIEF: Look who’s expected to get skunked on precipitation over the next seven days — the Florida peninsula. The U.S. Drought Monitor releases its latest analysis on Thursday and it will be interesting to see if Moderate Drought conditions expand again. They already cover most of the southern and eastern portions of the Florida peninsula. Wednesday’s cold front was forecast to roll through with little or no rainfall. (Image credit: NOAA/ WPC)

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POST-COLD FRONT FORECAST LOWS AND HIGHS: Miami, 56 on Thursday morning, high 67; West Palm Beach, 54 and 66; Naples, 52 and 64; Sebring, 39 and 62; Tampa and Orlando, 43 and 60; Gainesville, 34 and 57; Daytona Beach, 38 and 56; Jacksonville, 37 and 55; Lake City, 33 and 55; Tallahassee, 32 and 53.

Temperatures moderate on Friday, but then another cold front knocks temperatures back on Sunday.

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LATEST SUNRISE: We’re in the period of January (and the season) with the latest sunrise, a phenomenon that will last through the rest of this week and most of next week. On Friday, January 18, the sun begins rising a minute earlier and the mornings continue to get longer until Daylight Saving Time intervenes on Sunday, March 10.

In Palm Beach, the eastern-most slice of the Florida peninsula, the sun rises this week at 7:10 a.m., the latest of the fall/ winter season.

Sunset has been getting later since December 5, when the sun set at 5:26 p.m. Sunset is at 5:44 p.m. on January 9 and it will set at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29.

This is also the week with the coolest normal high temperature in West Palm Beach — 74 degrees. That edged down from 75 on Sunday; it bounces back up to 75 on the same day as the sunrise turnaround — Friday, January 18. Normal highs continue to march higher until July 31 when they top out at 91.

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AND: At the same time all of these astronomical changes are taking place, residents of North America will be treated to a total lunar eclipse, which will occur on the night of January 20-21.

This is what the media is calling the Full Wolf Moon, which will “glow an eerie coppery hue high in the dark and crisp winter sky,” says the Farmers Almanac.

A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and moon — blocking the light from the sun and casting a shadow over the lunar surface.

The peak of the event should occur on the 21st at 12:16 a.m. EST.

Late-week frost possible in North Florida as three cold fronts take aim at peninsula

WHERE’S THE COLD AIR? A trio of cold fronts are expected to roll down the Florida peninsula this week and late in the weekend. But big-picture-wise, it doesn’t look like there’s much Arctic air to work with as we head toward mid-January. At left is the 6-10-day outlook and at right is the 8-14-day outlook for the U.S. A lot of above-normal temperatures are in the forecast except for the East Coast, where close-to-normal temps are expected. There are no below-normal temperatures in these long-range forecasts anywhere — even in Alaska. (Image credits: NOAA/ CPC)

Florida-style winter weather is on the way — get out the long pants, but keep the shorts and flip-flops on standby.

The week should end in typical Florida winter fashion: Mid-week warm-up followed by a cold front, followed by high pressure building in, then once the high pressure slides off the coast, an east wind modifies the air mass and a warming trend begins. Rinse and repeat.

Frost is possible in North Florida on Thursday morning as the second of two cold fronts slides across peninsula late Wednesday, the National Weather Service says. Another slides through late Sunday.

Central Florida and South Florida should be safe, forecasters said, and in fact lows in coastal South Florida should only fall into the 50s. Inland areas may bottom out in the 30s, but breezy conditions should negate any frost potential, even in areas northwest of Lake Okeechobee, according to National Weather Service forecast discussions.

Thursday’s highs in South Florida will be in the upper 60s; the lower 60s in East-Central Florida; near 60 in the Tampa and Orlando areas; and upper 50s in the Gainesville area after a cold start to the day just above freezing.

Although these temperatures are below normal, they’re expected to modify quickly on Friday and a pretty nice weekend is on the horizon with highs in the 70s up and down the peninsula.

Even Key West should see lows near 60 on Thursday morning, with highs back up in the upper 70s on Saturday and Sunday.

In any case, there’s no ultra-cold air anywhere in the country, looking at Tuesday morning’s temperature map from Weather Underground. The only sub-freezing weather was in the Upper Midwest, the Plains States and the Mountain States — and in northern New England.

Tuesday early morning temps were in the 50s as far north as southern Illinois.

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NOT TO WORRY: Unscheduled radar maintenance in Key West shouldn’t have much of an effect, since no precipitation is in the forecast through at least Thursday in the Keys. If you need to check things out, use the Miami long-range radar. (Image credit: NWS-Key West)