A biting cold front expected to sweep through the Sunshine State this week with shivering Canadian air will bring winter temperatures to Palm Beach County considered chilly even for January.
The official forecast from the National Weather Service in Miami has the mercury diving into the mid-50s at Palm Beach International Airport early Friday morning and struggling to reach above 70 degrees through the day.
Areas in western Palm Beach County closer to Lake Okeechobee could see temperatures dip to the low-50s early Friday while spots in the Treasure Coast are forecast to plummet into the 40s. A northerly breeze could pull wind chill temperatures in some areas north of Martin County into the upper 30s, according to the NWS Melbourne office.
How cold will temperatures get in West Palm Beach?
“It’s a very, very strong cold front,” said NWS meteorologist Will Redman, who is based in Miami. “We are getting to the time of year when fronts are getting stronger and pushing farther down.”
The normal overnight low temperature for this time of year at Palm Beach International Airport is 65 degrees. That means the forecast low of 54 degrees early Friday is a full 11 degrees below normal for mid-November and 4 degrees cooler than what’s normal for the coldest days of January.
More: Hottest days in Florida vary, but cold fronts still weeks away, or longer
West Palm Beach hasn’t experienced temperatures in the 50s since March 20.
Redman said the cool weather should stick around through the weekend with overnight lows in the 50s at Palm Beach County’s coast and daytime highs in the mid-70s. The normal daytime high for this time of year is about 80 degrees.
“This air is coming down from western Canada, just coming straight down,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva. “I don’t expect to see any frost but we could see some 30s in the northern part of the state.”
Rain chances in South Florida increase to 50% ahead of the front on Wednesday.
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DaSilva said the showers are part of the remnants of Sara, which are getting pulled into the northern Gulf of Mexico by the area of low pressure tied to the cold front. Rain totals in South Florida are forecast to top out at about an inch, but the Weather Prediction Center is forecasting areas of the western Panhandle could get 4 inches or more.
“You’re not going to see Sara on the satellite or radar and be able to say, ‘Oh, there’s the eyewall.’ But there is Sara DNA in it,” DaSilva said about the showers that could bring localized flooding to areas in northwest Florida.
The National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on Sara early Monday, Nov. 18. Sara reached tropical storm strength before dropping to a depression over Belize on Sunday.
DaSilva said he doesn’t expect any tropical systems to follow Sara.
“I think the season is over,” he said. “There could be a rogue storm out in the Atlantic, but I think we’re done.”
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cool front coming to South Florida this week with winter temperatures
