The Sunshine State, including South Florida, is in for two blasts of cold arctic air starting Thursday night, then again on Sunday night.
The National Weather Service said a strong cold front will move across the peninsula on Thursday, bringing rain in the morning and much colder temperatures Thursday night and into Friday.
NWS is calling for lows down to 32 around Lake Okeechobee overnight Thursday, with gradually warmer temperatures closer to the coast. The western suburbs should see temperatures in the upper 30s to mid 40s.
“The coldest night is going to be Thursday night into early Friday morning,” said NWS meteorologist George Rizzuto. He said the Miami and Broward metro areas would have lows from 44 to 45 degrees and the Palm Beach County metro area would have lows from 42 to 43.
Gusty winds will accompany the cold air. Wind chill values around Lake Okeechobee could drop into the mid 20s with low-mid 30s elsewhere, the NWS said.
Rizzuto said chills would be 38 to 41 in metro Dade and Broward and 36 to 39 in metro Palm Beach County.
Some weather models are showing a low chance of snow flurries in the far northwest sector of Florida, but meteorologist Jeff Berardelli of WFLA-TV in Tampa warned that the models have been “very inconsistent.”
“It’s definitely cold enough for flakes to fly, but ground temps should be above freezing, so very limited to no accumulation is likely in Florida. GA, AL and the Carolinas are a different story,” he wrote on X.
Snow ❄️ in Florida Sunday? It’s very possible! Both the European and American models show snow into Northern #florida. Will it happen? Too early to know. I’d caution everyone that the models have been very inconsistent. So confidence is low. It’s definitely cold enough for flakes… pic.twitter.com/eTNUaVU6EH
— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) January 14, 2026
Friday and the weekend in South Florida will be sunny and dry, and warm to the high 60s and low 70s as the weekend progresses.
The second cold front should arrive Sunday afternoon and drop temperatures down to 50 overnight on the coast and 40 inland.
On Monday night, the College Football Playoff title game between the University of Miami and Indiana University, which is being played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, should enjoy a crisp cool night with clear skies and lows around 54.
Cooler weather will continue through at least Tuesday morning and warm into the 70s by Tuesday afternoon.