Chilly wind chills for south Florida (H. Michael Mogil, CCM, CBM, DMS)

For Friday morning, wind chills across south Florida will range from the mid 40’s in more northern inland locales to the lower 60’s along southeast and southern locations (Fig. 1). By Saturday morning, wind chills from Collier County northward, along the west coast, will likely dip into the 30’s and lower 40’s. The combined effect of nearby warm Atlantic waters and a northerly wind flow across Lake Okeechobee (whose waters are still quite warm) will keep East Coast southeast inland locations mostly in the mid 40’s to near 60 degrees (Fig. 2).
Then the chill vanishes, almost as quickly as it came. Winds will quickly turn to east and allow warmer, more humid air from over the Atlantic to move back into the area. Hence, by Saturday afternoon, many western areas of southwest Florida will see temperatures skyrocket into the mid 70’s.
As noted in yesterday’s post, for the fireworks and other outdoors activities on New Year’s Eve, look for temperatures across southwest Florida to fall back into the mid to upper 60’s with light (5 to 10 mile per hour) southeasterly winds.
© 2016 H. Michael Mogil
Originally posted 12/29/16