Florida Cold Worst In A Few Years. A Little Snow Thrown In, Too?

In this photo from Facebook, somebody Friday morning
wrote their state's name on window frost somewhere
in southwest Florida. 

Beach weather is on hold in sunny Florida as sharp cold fronts have dropped temperatures into the 20s in many locations, and are threatening a little snow near the Georgia border. 

Temperatures fell to as low as 18 degrees in Cross City, in northern Florida. Jacksonville had a record low of 22 degrees. Other record lows were reported in some cities in southern Georgia. 

Other cities that did not set record lows but still shivered included 24 degrees in Ocala, 30 degrees in Melbourne and Daytona Beach and 32 degrees in Orlando. 

Maybe they should have temporarily turned resort water parks to ski slopes?

A new cold front is expected to bring another bout of chill to Florida starting tomorrow. This one could deposit a little snow in extreme northern parts of the state.

Forecasters have been backing off on the amount of snow that might fall. If it does, it'll only be a dusting across parts of the panhandle near the Georgia border.

This won't be anything like last January, when a snowstorm shattered records along the Gulf Coast and northern Florida. As much as nine inches of snow fell in the Florida Panhandle. 

Still, two consecutive Januaries with snow in Florida would be something. 

The cold front that brought the incredible snow last year to northern Florida last year did not push significantly into South Florida.

This year, chilly temperatures covered the entire state. 

The temperature Friday morning in Miami was 44 degrees. It was not a record low, but it was the chilliest the city has been in three years. Fort Lauderdale reached 43, also the coldest in three years. 

This was enough for iguanas to rain down from the trees, temporarily paralyzed by the cold. Manatees huddled in big herds in bays and estuaries fed by warm springs to keep warm. 

The next cold front, the one that might bring snow to the northern tip of the Florida will give only a glancing blow to the southern parts of the state. It should be in the low 50s in Miami by Monday morning.