Chilly, dry weather has arrived in South Florida and is here to stay, with temperatures likely not reaching the high 70s until later next week and rain chances remaining close to zero.
Temperatures dropped to the low 50s overnight in Palm Beach County and Fort Lauderdale, according to the National Weather Service, with Palm Beach International Airport hitting 51 degrees and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport hitting 56.
As of 4 p.m., high temperatures Saturday were slightly lower than anticipated, reaching only the low 60s rather than the mid-60s.
“Today`s temperatures continue to fall on the lower side of guidance,” forecasters for National Weather Service Miami wrote in an update a little after 3 p.m. “Some modifications have been made due to the thick cloud coverage and temperatures trending cooler than initially forecast.”
The cold temperatures are due to a “very strong push of cold air” behind a cold front that came through the area over the last few days, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez.
Saturday night will be as cold or perhaps even colder than New Year’s Eve, Torres-Vazquez said, with temperatures dropping back to the low 50s. Western portions of Palm Beach and Broward counties may see temperatures drop into the mid-40s Saturday and Sunday.
New Year’s Eve day will be slightly warmer and sunnier than Saturday, however, with clouds thinning out and highs in the upper 60s in most areas, possibly breaking into the 70s in Fort Lauderdale.
Still, the highs will remain tempered by the cold airmass draping the region.
“Even with all that sun coming in, it’s warming the airmass up from a very low temperature,” Torres-Vazquez said.
So far, this weekend has been the chilliest of the season, though it hasn’t surpassed the cold snap that took over South Florida last January, where temperatures plunged into the 40s.
And it isn’t letting up any time soon. A new cold front will arrive Tuesday, though temperatures will be slightly higher than this weekend, with lows in the mid-50s.
Finally, another front may come through Thursday, with a slight increase in rain chances– from close to zero to twenty percent. Ahead of the front, southerly winds will bring warm, tropical air back to South Florida, and high temperatures should shoot back up to the high 70s.
The warm weather will be short-lived, however: temperatures should dip again on Friday.