The first cold nights in Florida, station by station
When the first night of 50°F or colder and the first freeze usually come at each reference station over the last 10 falls (a count shows where some years never got there), with the coldest week from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals and the coldest night of the last 10 winters.
First cold nights and the coldest week at Florida reference stations
Station
First 50°F night
First freeze
Coldest week
Coldest night, last 10 winters
JacksonvilleJacksonville, USW00013889
Oct 23
Dec 1
Jan 11 to 17normal low 43°F
20°FDec 25, 2022
MiamiMiami International Airport, USW00012839
Dec 17 (8 of 10 falls)
None in 10 winters
Jan 14 to 20normal low 61°F
35°FFeb 1, 2026
TampaTampa International Airport, USW00012842
Nov 19
Jan 18 (3 of 10 winters)
Jan 12 to 18normal low 52°F
29°FFeb 1, 2026
OrlandoOrlando Executive Airport, USW00012841
Nov 22
Jan 5 (3 of 10 winters)
Jan 11 to 17normal low 52°F
24°FFeb 1, 2026
TallahasseeTallahassee, USW00093805
Oct 20
Nov 29
Jan 10 to 16normal low 40°F
18°FFeb 2, 2026
PensacolaPensacola Regional Airport, USW00013899
Oct 30
Dec 23 (9 of 10 winters)
Jan 10 to 16normal low 43°F
13°FJan 22, 2025
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Jacksonville against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 6 Florida reference stations.
The first night of 50°F or colder is a fair marker of the first real front. At Jacksonville the first night of 50°F or colder came around Oct 23 in the median of the last 10 falls, as early as Oct 5 in 2022 and as late as Nov 2 in 2020. Elsewhere in the state: Miami around Dec 17, Tampa around Nov 19, Orlando around Nov 22, Tallahassee around Oct 20 and Pensacola around Oct 30.
Jacksonville has its first freeze around Dec 1, counting nights at 32°F or colder over the last 10 winters. Across the state: none at Miami, Tampa around Jan 18 (3 of 10 winters), Orlando around Jan 5 (3 of 10 winters), Tallahassee around Nov 29 and Pensacola around Dec 23 (9 of 10 winters).
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Jacksonville was 20°F on Dec 25, 2022, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 26°F. Elsewhere: Miami 35°F on Feb 1, 2026, Tampa 29°F on Feb 1, 2026 and Orlando 24°F on Feb 1, 2026. The record at the Jacksonville station is 7°F, on Jan 21, 1985, in daily records since 1938.
At Jacksonville a typical recent winter brings 10 nights at 32°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Jacksonville (USW00013889), Miami International Airport (USW00012839), Tampa International Airport (USW00012842), Orlando Executive Airport (USW00012841), Tallahassee (USW00093805) and Pensacola Regional Airport (USW00013899). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
