Tampa, Florida — Florida’s reputation as a winter escape is being put to the test as a surge of Arctic air settles over the state, bringing below-freezing nights, widespread frost, and even the possibility of rare snow flurries in parts of central Florida while powerful winter storms batter other regions of the country.
Meteorologists say the cold pattern gripping the Midwest and South is now shifting east, with a massive storm system over the Atlantic expected to pull frigid air down the East Coast this weekend. While the Carolinas appear poised for the harshest impacts, Florida is bracing for conditions that many residents are unaccustomed to handling.
Freezing Temperatures Could Set Records
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say a cold front earlier this week has already pushed temperatures lower across the state, but the coldest air is yet to come.
Ana Torres-Vazquez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said overnight lows this weekend could approach or break record levels in parts of Florida, particularly inland and north of the I-4 corridor…