ORLANDO, Fla. – Wednesday will be somewhat deceiving across Central Florida as we get some much-needed rain in the area. Temperatures are far more mild, and humidity is cranking as moisture surges in from the west.
Rain will be coming for later Wednesday night and especially the first half of Thursday.
Then, temperatures quite literally fall to the way side. Further than we’ve seen yet this fall and winter season.
We should be prepared for freezing and below-freezing temperatures in some areas starting in the early morning hours of Friday and potentially lingering for a little after sunrise.
The colder temps will begin to settle in as early as 8-10 p.m. Thursday night. Freezing conditions will be underway by approximately 2 a.m. lasting until 9-10 a.m. for our northern counties.
Despite all the sun we’re expected to receive, our high temperatures won’t do much to lift us out of the cold environment we’ll be waking up to.
For most of us, our afternoon highs will max out in the mid-to-upper 50s. This is a dense layer of cold air, and our naturally warm climate won’t do much to mix it out immediately.
Wind chill and feels-like temps will also be an issue, for at least parts of Thursday night and localized areas Friday morning. The winds behind this cold front won’t be as harsh as we’ve seen in previous bouts but still step outside anticipating to feel the sting.
Now, Friday should be our only day where a larger majority of us drop into freeze, if not hard freeze thresholds. Saturday and a brief window of Sunday will warm up a touch as we await the reinforcing shot of cold weather to arrive Sunday night for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
We have a county-by-county forecast built for your situational awareness to equip you appropriately as to what you should expect in your local area.
But in summary, especially northwest of the I-4 corridor, you are far more likely to see freezing air temperatures as low as the mid to upper 20s.
You’ll also want to take the necessary precautions around your house and for yourselves come early next week with the extension of this cold event. Alachua and Marion counties could see consecutive mornings with freezing air temperatures at wake up.