ORLANDO, Fla. – The coldest air of this event has officially rolled its way into our area as of Wednesday morning.
Temperatures outside are settling into freezing territory, with feels-like temperatures even harsher.
Wednesday afternoon we won’t see much relief either, given the position of the polar high pressure that’s ultimately driving these frigid conditions.
When you pair the air temperatures with winds still moving across our state from back behind the front, it results in not only a blanket issued cold weather advisory but a few spots under a freeze warning.
Alachua, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Volusia and Flagler counties have a freeze warning in effect until around 9 a.m. As the sun comes up, we’ll see temps move away from that freezing point, but they won’t get much higher from there.
That’s because, the same high pressure mentioned above is also helping to keep our that funnel of cold air moving fairly quick. They’ve dropped since the initial push of this cold air, but the gusts we’re seeing Wednesday, especially along the east coast will keep temperatures feeling a lot more brutal than your thermometer may elude to.
Combine all this with a loss of nearly all our classic Florida moisture. The cold front was strong enough we’ve essentially flushed the atmosphere of all leftover subtropical moisture and humidity we felt through the Christmas holiday and shortly thereafter.
With that being said, be leery of the way you set your New Year’s fireworks off Wednesday night. Fire is the keyword. Such low moisture and rocking northerly winds are the perfect recipe for even the slightest bit of a spark to set things ablaze.
But, nevertheless, embrace this resurrection of winter and enjoy the finale of 2025! It will be cold this evening, but feels like temps will nudge upward slightly as winds relax some after sunset.
We can expect mid to upper 40s a few hours after the sun goes down, with the upper 30s visiting once again as we approach the final countdown to the ball drop.
If you can move some of your evening plans indoors, it might be to your best interest. Across Central Florida as we hit midnight, many of us will be right back into those near freezing feels like temps.
Layers will be your best friend. I would actually advise, take advantage! I for one can openly admit, I like the colder weather for the sake of accessorizing and showing off some of my best fall or winter outfits. We don’t get that chance here in the Sunshine State often, so dust off your best wintry look and take all the selfies.
Toward the first weekend of 2026, we do see some relief from these cold temps. Warmth will start to return by Friday, and then there’s even a slight shot for some very isolated drops of rain as we move through Saturday and early Sunday.
Unfortunately, I would say around 80-90% of us won’t receive even a whisper of that rainfall. Computer models suggest the weak frontal boundary will lose its punch as it swings through our state, dissipating the rain as it does.
January could bring with it more below average rain chances and a surge in our fire risks across Central Florida all thanks to our La Nina winter pattern keeping a bulk of the much-needed moisture well to our north.
We’ll have to fight tooth and nail more or less to bring some of it down here.