Temperatures Plunge In FL As System Brings Frigid Weather To State

FLORIDA — The Sunshine State won’t be spared when colder air makes its way across the southeastern United States this weekend.

Temperatures will plunge across Florida over the next couple of days — though they won’t drop quite as low as they did over the Christmas holiday, according to AccuWeather.

A cold front will move across the state — from north to south — through Friday. While it brings some rain with it, the state will mostly see some showers and thunderstorms, rather than steady storms.

"The moisture will dwindle as the front moves into South Florida Friday afternoon with the potential for a couple of downpours down to Miami," Dave Houk, AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist, said. "Miami, living up to the dry season, has not had measurable rain so far this year."

In January, Florida’s typical highs range from the mid-60s in Jacksonville to the mid-70s in Miami. This weekend, most of the state will see temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below average, according to the weather station.

As temperatures plummet Friday night into Saturday, some areas of the state could see frost or free – mostly in Central Florida north of Interstate 4, Houk said.

And much of the Panhandle and Florida’s northern counties will dip below freezing over the weekend, AccuWeather said.

On the West Coast of Florida, Tampa will see a high of 67 degrees and a low of 44 degrees on Friday with a mix of sun and clouds and some high wind gusts, according to the National Weather Service. By Saturday night, the temperature will drop further, with a high of 55 and a low of 38. And Sunday night, the highs increase to 61 degrees, but the lows in the area remain around 36 degrees.

Further south, in the Miami area, Friday sees a high of 80 degrees and a low of 46 with rain, wind and thunder likely, according to Weather.com.

Meanwhile, Saturday is mainly sunny with a high of 62 and a low of 41 and temperatures rising slightly Sunday with a high of 66 and a low of 48.

Here's the Tampa area forecast for the Martin Luther King. Jr. weekend from the National Weather Service:

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Wind chill values as low as 40 early. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light north after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Light north wind.

Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 41. Calm wind.

M.L. King Day: Sunny, with a high near 69. Light and variable wind.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Calm wind.