So, how cold did it get?
National Weather Service meteorologist Will Redman has a fake iguana in the Miami office that “we dressed up” in anticipation of the rare polar cold front.
Key Biscayne residents and visitors felt the wrath of Mother Nature on Saturday evening into Sunday, when the temperature fell, officially, to 37 degrees with a wind chill in the upper 20s.
What is wind chill?
Wind chill measures how cold it feels when wind speeds increase heat loss from the body. Even when temperatures are above freezing, strong winds can make outdoor conditions feel much colder.
That reading was taken at the National Weather Service’s temperature gauge on Virginia Key, according to Redman, who said it was the first time the thermometer dipped this low since “the last big event in 2010.”
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In a Facebook post, Islander News contributing columnist Bill Durham, however, found his iPhone reading at 8:55 a.m. Sunday to be 31 degrees even with the sun shining. Such temperature readings are found on websites when sitting in a colder location, like in a vehicle.
Redman couldn’t corroborate the below-freezing mark since there are no official NWS readings taken in Key Biscayne.
At the NWS office near Florida International University, he said the temperature reached a low of 34, the coldest since 2010, when it officially hit 35 degrees. In 1989, there was reportedly an official reading of 34 in Miami.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that at the Miami International Airport weather station, a preliminary report showed the temperature at 35 degrees Fahrenheit at 6:53 a.m. That’s a degree lower than the daily record set in 1909 at 36 degrees.
At 11:41 Sunday morning, WPLG Channel 10 in Miami posted on X that it was colder in Miami than parts of Alaska.Â
Sunday morning temperatures dropped to 35° in Miami—colder than Kodiak, Alaska at 39°. A rare setup as Arctic air pushes deep into South Florida.
X by @BrantlyWx / @WPLGLocal10
Fort Lauderdale’s low was 35 overnight, the coolest since a reading of 34, also 16 years ago.
Key West, in comparison, came in at a balmy 52 early Sunday morning.
Asked if there were any reports of frozen pipe damage, Redman said, “I would not be surprised, especially in inland areas.”
With high winds knocking down power lines on Harbor Drive in Key Biscayne on Saturday night, resulting in a power outage for some, the wind chill factor made it seem colder than it actually was.
In Pembroke Pines, for example, the wind chill dipped to 24 degrees.
“Today (Sunday) will be the coldest (day) with another round Sunday night, but that will be a couple degrees warmer, but not by much,” Redman said. “It will still be chilly Tuesday morning and then starting slowly to climb back up.”
Icicles, he expected, could be found in the county’s interior areas near the Everglades, perhaps.
As for Redman’s toy iguana? It will be enjoying its sweater for the next few days.