The south Florida cold snap will soon come to an end. It began with the passage of a strong cold front earlier this week (Tuesday). Rushing in, then, behind the boundary has been the chilliest air since last March. On Wednesday, we were seeing sunshine but “of the cool kind” because air continued to arrive from the north. Even with the sun, it was a struggle for much warming and only Key West touched off 70-degrees for the daytime high. Miami only made it into the middle 60’s for the top temperature of the day! Even more impressive, Ft. Lauderdale got into the record books with the coolest high (for the date) on record. Broward County highs were consistently in the middle 60’s with a chilly breeze. Here’s a look at the beautiful sunset at 5:30 pm with a generally calm Biscayne Bay.
The stage is set for 1-more chilly night. Since the cold front is long gone, what’s the reason? Conditions are ripe for what’s called Radiational Cooling. With high pressure centered over north Florida (which is what’s at the heart of this pattern) there’s clear skies and light winds. Also, the longer nights this time of year will contribute to the cold air extent.
Heading into Thursday, the high pressure area begins to slide east, reaching the Atlantic Ocean. That path will allow winds to swing around from the northeast, then east. With this set up, it’s a warmer onshore flow and air off the ocean will take away the chill.
Into Friday and Saturday, you’ll notice a different (but more familiar) feel across the region due to the warming. The trend won’t peak until early next week. Highs will bounce back to the middle 80’s during the day, and lows will also be warmer than usual as December begins. Looking far ahead, the next cold front to possibly approach our area might come into the middle of next week. It’s not likely to have much cooling impact, based on all of the long range forecast maps.
