Put on a sweater and look out for falling iguanas this week — a major jolt of cold is forecast to greet South Floridians.
A strong cold front will come through the region on Monday with a “pretty strong” northwesterly wind flow shifting more to a northerly wind flow on Tuesday, Chuck Caracozza, senior meteorologist at the Weather Service in Miami, said Sunday.
“It’s a short blast, but a pretty strong one,” Caracozza said, adding that temperatures will be more like what is normally expected mid-December into January.
The Weather Service is forecasting temperature as low as the upper 40s along the coastal areas of Broward and Palm Beach counties on Tuesday morning. Lower 50s are the forecast temperature in coastal Miami-Dade County.
Inland, especially in the communities near Lake Okeechobee, it could get down to the 30s.
The cold comes just after the region flirted with record highs — forecast to hit the upper 80s to around 90 Sunday afternoon.
The kind of cold front that is expected to provide the bracing weather Tuesday morning starts to come through at this time of year, Caracozza said. “As for the strength of this one and the amount of cold, arctic air, this is relatively rare for this time of year.”
The average low on Nov. 11 is 70 degrees in Fort Lauderdale and 68 degrees in West Palm Beach, according to WeatherSpark.com.
The Tuesday morning cold isn’t likely to break any records, Caracozza said.
The record low for Nov. 11 in Fort Lauderdale was 41 degrees and in West Palm Beach it was 42 degrees, both set in 1913, Weather Service records show.
This week’s cold won’t last long, Caracozza said. “Tuesday you’ll notice a chill in the air. Everywhere is going to struggle to hit 70. Highs will be in the upper 60s across the metro areas” and in the lower 60s near the lake.
It will start to warm up Tuesday night. Highs in the mid-70s are expected on Wednesday.
Iguanas don’t fare well in chilly weather, prompting some television meteorologists to issue falling iguana alerts.
The non-native invasive species are cold-blooded, tropical creatures.
They typically begin to lose mobility when temperatures reach 50 degrees. Below that, the cold can completely immobilize them. If that happens while they’re sleeping they can fall to the ground. They most likely will remain alive and will revive when the weather warms up..
Those who don’t see the coming chill as refreshing, can at least be thankful they’re not in Chicago.
The Weather Service forecasts “high snow rates and low visibility” Sunday night into Monday, and a winter storm watch was in effect for the Chicago area and northwest Indiana.
This report includes information from Sun Sentinel archives.