Stiff winds coupled with a cold front will make for a chilly Tuesday in Palm Beach County, with some areas feeling like it’s nearly 30 degrees.
Manatees love warm waters in cold Florida weather
Palm Beach Post reporter Kim Miller counts dozens of manatees in Manatee Lagoon outside the FPL power plant in Riviera Beach in January 2017.
Brace yourselves for the coldest morning of the fall.
A cold front is bringing the first significant chill in months to South Florida, with winds that will drop temperatures overnight on Nov. 10 and in the 30s to parts of Palm Beach County early on Nov. 11, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
The forecast calls for low temperatures in the mid- to upper 40s for coastal Palm Beach County, and in the lower 40s for inland communities near Lake Okeechobee. However, northwest winds blowing at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph, will make it feel like it’s in the 30s across the region.
The cold snap won’t last, however. By Nov. 12, high temperatures will rise again to the mid- and upper 70s, said Chuck Caracozza, senior meteorologist for the weather service’s Miami office.
“The good news is after (Tuesday) night, the lows are not going to be as cold.” said Chuck Caracozza, senior meteorologist for the weather service’s Miami office.
“It will drop down to upper 50s to around 60 in the metro areas, and then upper 40s to around 50 across the Lake region. It’s going to be short-lived. Once we get through Tuesday, temperatures are going to start to rebound.”
Temperatures last dipped into 50s on March 18 in Palm Beach County
Until then, the county will cope with temperatures it hasn’t felt since March 18, the last time temperatures hit 50 degrees.
The drop in temperatures is driven by Arctic air that is seeping into the middle latitudes through a fissure in the polar vortex. North and northwest winds are moving the air south toward the Florida Peninsula.
Winds are forecast to shift to the northeast on the night of Nov. 11, carrying warmer air with them and returning South Florida to normal temperatures.
The weather service has issued a cold weather advisory for inland Palm Beach County from 4- 9 a.m. on Nov. 11 as temperatures near Lake Okeechobee dip into the mid 30s.
As of the morning of Nov. 10, there were no plans to open cold weather shelters in Palm Beach County, a county spokesperson said. Shelters open when sustained temperatures dip below 40 degrees for an extended period.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
