Strong winds will usher in a blast of cold air over South Florida starting Monday night, ending unusually warm weather. The National Weather Service said temperatures would drop by 30 to 40 degrees between Monday afternoon to daybreak on Tuesday.
The region should remain chilly through the end of the workweek, forecasters said, if not through the weekend.
Will Redman, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the air, originating in Canada, will arrive Monday night. “We’ll get some breezier winds, and much cooler and drier air,” he said.
The change in temperature will be dramatic.
Monday’s daytime temperatures will be near record highs across the eastern half of South Florida this afternoon. Apparent temperatures could remain in the low 90s for several hours, said forecasters.
But the front will hit quickly with north winds from 9 mph to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Coastal South Florida should see temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s by Tuesday morning while the area around Lake Okeechobee could see temperatures in the upper 30s.
Early morning temperatures on the coast should hover between 49 and 55 for most of the week, with daytime temperatures warming to the mid to high 60s. Inland will be slightly cooler, dropping to 45 Wednesday night.
Friday night could see some cloudiness move it, with clouds and rain here and there over the weekend.
The cooler weather will last longer than usual, said Redman.
“It’s weird that we have a pattern where we don’t get a shift to a southerly (wind) flow or easterly flow to get some warmer air back in, but that’s the way it looks … and there’s potentially another front over the weekend that could bring in some cooler air.”
Skies will remain mostly clear through the week.
