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Brrrreaking news: Coldest night of year on way to South Florida
Wind chill could hit upper 20s in some parts of Broward
By Ken Kaye and Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 20, 2009
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Bring in Spot and get out the extra blankets.
The coldest weather of the winter is on the way, as the forecast calls
for the mercury to plunge into the low 40s tonight and the high 30s on
Wednesday night.
Mix in occasionally gusty winds and the feels-like temperature could
reach the upper 20s, particularly far inland in Broward and Palm Beach
counties, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
Even metro and coastal areas should be shivering, as wind chill
temperatures late tonight and Wednesday night are forecast to be in the
low 30s, said weather service meteorologist Gordon Strassberg.
"It's going to be a chilly couple of nights," he said.
Today's forecast calls for morning lows in the upper 50s and afternoon
highs in the low 70s. By this evening, cold air should start flowing
in. The high temperature on Wednesday might not reach 60 degrees,
forecasters said.
In all, it should be a nippy week, as conditions weren't expected to
start warming until Friday, weather service meteorologist Dan Dixon
said.
Homeless shelters were expected to open for the next two or three nights.
Fire officials urged residents to take extra care with space heaters
and candles — and further warned against using charcoal grills as an
alternative source of heat inside homes.
"That's a tremendous mistake," said Fire Inspector John DeVoe of
Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue. "Carbon monoxide is a silent killer."
In agricultural areas, farmers were taking measures to protect fruits
and vegetables. If temperatures hit the freezing mark for several
hours, then cucumbers, bell peppers and green beans could be lost, said
Rick Wilson, of Boca Raton-based Thomas Produce.
"We are always concerned when they show temperatures like they are showing," Wilson said.
So far, the forecast doesn't look cold enough to threaten sugar cane,
which covers hundreds of thousands of acres south of Lake Okeechobee,
said Barbara Miedema, vice president of the Sugar Cane Growers
Cooperative of Florida. She said sugar cane is one of the hardier crops.
Two cold fronts are delivering the frigid air, part of the same system
that already has sunk much of the nation into a deep freeze.