Winter Weather Advisory & Look Ahead to January

The National Weather Service has issued the following advisories, watches, and warnings for Florida for this Friday and Saturday night.

 

Freeze Warning, Lake Wind Advisory, Freeze Watch

Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Pasco, Sumter

Freeze Warning, Freeze Watch

Calhoun, Central Walton, Coastal Bay, Coastal Dixie, Coastal Franklin, Coastal Gulf, Coastal Jefferson, Coastal Taylor, Coastal Wakulla, Gadsden, Holmes, Inland Bay, Inland Dixie, Inland Franklin, Inland Gulf, Inland Jefferson, Inland Taylor, Inland Wakulla, Jackson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, North Walton, South Walton, Washington

Freeze Watch

Glades, Hendry

Freeze Warning, Lake Wind Advisory

Flagler

Freeze Warning, Freeze Watch, Lake Wind Advisory

Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee, Union

Wind Chill Advisory

Coastal Palm Beach County, Coastal Volusia County, Indian River, Inland Broward County, Inland Collier County, Inland Palm Beach County, Inland Volusia County, Martin, Metro Palm Beach County, Northern Brevard County, Northern Lake County, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Southern Brevard County, Southern Lake County, St. Lucie

 A freeze warning means that sub-freezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely.  A freeze watch means that sub-freezing temperatures are possible. A wind chill advisory means that very cold air and wind will combine to generate low wind chills.

 

 

A Look Ahead to January:

 

Harris-Mann Climatology’s annual Florida Freeze Outlook indicates a strong chance of sub-freezing temperatures as far south as Central Florida around the middle of January. Readings at that time are expected to drop into the mid to upper 20s. Below freezing temperatures for at least several hours could easily damage the citrus and vegetable crops.

 “The warmer El Niño sea-surface temperature event in the south-central Pacific Ocean has been replaced by a cooler ‘La Nada,’ the in-between state of a warmer El Niño and a colder La Nina within recent months. This type of pattern often allows frigid Arctic air to push far to the south, especially in January and February, which has threatened the Florida citrus crops in the past,” says meteorologist Randy Mann.

Harris-Mann forecasters see a much stronger cold wave approaching the southeastern U.S. arriving by the middle of January, 2013. “Some of this very cold air that is expected to arrive in Florida will originate from Alaska. Temperatures near Fairbanks were as cold as -50°F in November as that month was one of the coldest in the state’s history,” says Harris.

Source: Growing Produce & wunderground.com