NORTHERN FLORIDA — Residents in northern Florida are facing unusually cold weather as the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a freeze warning effective Monday evening through Tuesday morning. Temperatures are expected to drop to as low as 23–24°F in parts of the Florida Panhandle and the Jacksonville area.
The cold front, driven by Arctic air, poses risks to agriculture, outdoor plumbing, pets, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly, young children, and the homeless. The NWS advises residents to take precautions, including:
- Protecting tender vegetation and crops
- Providing shelter and warmth for outdoor pets
- Wrapping exposed pipes, draining sprinkler systems, and allowing faucets to drip to prevent freezing
- Checking on at-risk individuals
Freeze warnings indicate temperatures falling below 32°F for an extended period, with hard freeze conditions below 28°F potentially killing most exposed vegetation. The warning also extends to southern Georgia, parts of southeast Alabama, and coastal and inland Georgia.
Looking ahead, the NWS Climate Prediction Center projects above-average temperatures for much of Florida between December 23 and 29, with the Panhandle seeing a 70–80% chance of warmer-than-normal weather and the rest of the state a 50–70% chance…