ORLANDO, Fla. – January has been COLD! Real cold.
Florida decided it was time to take part in the winter season, and we did so in a very traditional fashion, with freezing temperatures across much of the peninsula.
Finally, as we start the last week of the month, we’re starting to return to a bit of normalcy for many of us. Temperatures are rebounding into the low to mid-70s as we start your Monday and work our way to the first of February.
From there? It gets even warmer.
Climate Prediction Center is anticipating a massive flip in our overall temperatures across not only Florida but the remainder of the south and east United States. We were used to seeing shades of dark blue painting our viewing area for BELOW average temperatures.
If you look at the graphic above, courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center, we’re now spattered with shades of dark REDS. That means we will rapidly climb to above-average temperatures as we venture into February.
Now I will say immediately, this does not mean we are done with the cold temperatures! We will receive more doses of polar and potentially Arctic air. We will see more cold fronts coming down into our Florida viewing area.
However, after such a historic event we’d witnessed last week, with snow and ice reaching as far south as Gainesville in northern Florida, the atmosphere needs a second to collect itself. It needs to recharge. With so much expended energy, things need to reset. Think of it like obliterating your body in a brutal workout in the gym.
After the gym, you’re sore, you’re tired, you’re hungry. Naturally, we can’t feed the atmosphere or let it go to sleep. But the same principles apply. With so much energy expended and exhausted, Mother Nature will take its time to flip the pattern upside down before we revisit cold temperatures again.
For the time being, we’ll have to enjoy these pleasant temperatures both overnight and during the warmest parts of the afternoon.
However, we’ll be watching very closely what’s ahead. When things get warm, and the pattern flips, we tend to see a lull between systems before things get chaotic again.
As warm air returns and surges northward, this will start to prime our atmosphere for another winter storm. This means more snow, more cold temperatures, and the potential for more severe thunderstorms when the time comes. We’re currently tracking two future systems and will let you know the latest once the data becomes a lot more clear and concise!
