A powerful polar cold front is set to sweep across Florida, bringing freezing temperatures to the Sunshine State.
The first freeze of the season will likely develop overnight on Sunday, as temperatures throughout the I-10 corridor will fall near and below freezing, according to forecasters.
The north of Florida is set to be hit the hardest by the weather system, with temperatures dropping below 32 degrees in cities including Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Lake City, among others.
Temperatures will be lowest in Marianna in Jackson County, where it will feel like 24 degrees on Monday morning, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Meanwhile, it will feel like 25 degrees in Panama City, while it will drop to between 27 and 30 degrees in Crestview, Perry, Tallahassee, Lake City, Apalachicola, and Graceville, as well as Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Horseshoe Beach.
Amid the cold temperatures, a freeze warning will likely be issued for several locations across the I-10 corridor overnight on Sunday and into Monday morning.
Freeze warnings are issued when temperatures are forecast to be below 32 degrees for several hours within the next 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Under a freeze warning, you should bring any plants indoors and take any necessary action to prevent plumbing from freezing.
By the end of the first week of December, temperatures will likely return to normal levels for early December, the mid- to-upper 70s, according to Orlando TV station WKMG.
Temperatures in the 20s deep in the Southeast by Monday morning.
Not brutally cold for first week of meteorological winter, but I'd call this a seasonable chill.
About 2/3 of the USA population will be freezing or colder. pic.twitter.com/t4YApPznR8
It comes as the NWS Climate Prediction Center has warned of a potential "hard freeze" affecting the Southeast, including northern parts of Florida. The center said this will likely hit early next week. "Please protect susceptible vegetation, and if you are traveling south, bring your jackets!" the center said on X, formerly Twitter.
A hard freeze warning is issued if the temperature is expected to be below 28 degrees for at least three hours. These occur in rural areas in the interior of south Florida about once every 10 years, and less frequently along coastal metropolitan areas.
Last weekend, pockets of Florida experienced temperatures in the 30s even as far south as Lake Okeechobee, according to meteorologist Jeff Berardelli at Tampa TV station WFLA. When temperatures hit between 33 and 36 degrees, frost can occur, according to the NWS.
"It's a testament to the influence of dry air, clear skies and light winds. Radiational cooling," Berardelli said on X.
Meanwhile, across the country, multiple states in the West are under winter weather warnings as snow is projected for California.
"The cold blast will feel like January and will deliver a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have gotten used to warm conditions during much of the autumn," AccuWeather lead long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
In a post on X, Florida-based meteorologist Ryan Maue said that about two thirds of the U.S. population will be "freezing or colder" this weekend.
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