Low-temperature records set in Orlando during the Great Depression and in Sanford when Kennedy was president were broken Tuesday morning as the region endured a blast of cold.

Meteorologist Brendan Schaper with the National Weather Service in Melbourne said the 36-degree readings in each city set records unofficially — they’re unofficial until the weather service issues its daily record event reports. Brisk north winds pushed the wind chill — how cold it feels outside — well down into the 20s for a few hours before daybreak, he added.

Orlando’s official temperature is taken at MCO, but there were outlying areas in Orange and Seminole counties that went into the low 30s. The city’s previous record for Nov. 11 of 39 degrees was set in 1932, while Sanford’s record, also 39, was from 1962.

The blast of cold came on the heels of warmer-than-normal — but not record-breaking — temperatures days earlier in Orlando: 87 on Saturday and 84 on Sunday. Normal temperatures this time of year are in the upper 70s to near 80 with lows around 59.

“We were warm and all of the sudden we kind of slid down behind the cold front and into the 30s this morning — so that’s quite a drop,” Schaper said.

Some area homeless service organizations made extra room for those looking to escape the frigid air.

A cold front, bringing Arctic air to Central Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, makes for a cold morning walk to work for Kathy Galaz and Taylor Krublit as they head to the office of engineering firm Kimley-Horn in downtown Orlando on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel) A cold front, bringing Arctic air to Central Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, makes for a cold morning walk from the SunRail station platform at Church Street in downtown Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel) A cold front, bringing Arctic air to Central Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, makes for a cold morning walk from the SunRail station platform at Church Street in downtown Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 4A cold front, bringing Arctic air to Central Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, makes for a cold morning walk in downtown Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)Expand

Matthew’s Hope Ministries in Winter Garden opened as an emergency cold weather shelter Monday night and planned to do so again Tuesday night.

A spokeswoman said Tuesday morning that 42 people showed up for shelter overnight and about 100 arrived for hot breakfast and other services. She said the agency was allowing people to congregate there during the day to warm up and anticipated a larger crowd at the shelter overnight Tuesday.

In the downtown Orlando area, the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida had 40 additional guests due to the cold and the Orlando Union Rescue Mission had 15 additional guests. Other area shelters, like the Salvation Army, expanded capacity but didn’t see increased traffic.

Power remained on for most overnight Monday, according to electric utilities serving Central Florida.

Schaper said the cold will ease but still linger into Wednesday morning with expected lows around 40 in Orlando and the upper 30s in outlying areas.

However, the 25-to-35 mph wind gusts that plagued residents Tuesday morning are not expected to continue.

“When you wake up the wind will be a lot lighter, around 5 miles an hour or less, so that wind chill factor won’t be playing as much of a role,” he said.

The high winds and low humidity caused the weather service to issue a red flag warning about elevated fire danger around 8 a.m., lasting into late afternoon for Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. The agency said fires that develop would likely spread rapidly and outdoor burning was discouraged.

Schaper said the cold front that moved into the area early Monday arrived a little sooner — and was a little stronger — than what’s normal this time of year. A warming trend is forecast over the next seven days, with temperatures expected to reach the low to mid-80s by early next week with little to no rain expected.

And for those wondering if they can stop worrying about hurricanes, Schaper said the cold offers hope even though the season runs through the end of the month.

“Less than 10 storms have occurred in the last 100 years beyond Nov. 10,” he said. “We’re on that tail end of the season.

“I don’t want to rule anything out but these cold fronts that come down that are this strong are a good sign.”