{"id":5333,"date":"2025-10-15T19:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5333\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T19:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:53:07","slug":"south-florida-winter-forecast-predicts-low-chance-of-frozen-iguanas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5333\/","title":{"rendered":"South Florida Winter Forecast Predicts Low Chance of Frozen Iguanas"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Florida, for all its beauty, is filled with perils like hurricane season, road rage, and botched BBLs, to name a few. But a recent winter forecast suggests residents may be spared one of South Florida\u2019s hazardous quirks: frozen iguanas falling from the heavens<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the National Weather Service<\/a> (NWS) is predicting a warmer, drier winter than average in South Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NWS forecasters are predicting a 50 percent chance of above-average temperatures for January through March, and a 50 percent chance of below-average rainfall.<\/p>\n

\"DepictedThe National Weather Service is predicting a 50-percent chance that South Florida will see above-average temperatures from January through March.<\/p>\n

\"DepictedThe National Weather Service forecasts a 50 percent chance of below-average rainfall in South Florida from January through March.<\/p>\n

South Florida\u2019s average rainfall<\/a> for that time period is about 6.5 inches, and its average temperature<\/a> lingers between 66 degrees and 73 degrees. While that\u2019s the perfect temperature to attract flocks of snow birds from up north, it\u2019s well below the temperature typically needed (40 degrees) for a frozen iguana to cascade from a tree (and possibly knock you in the head while you\u2019re in downward-facing dog<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"iguanaNot sure a blood-spattering iguana killing would be considered humane!<\/p>\n

Photo by Dr. Steve A. Johnson<\/p>\n

Green iguanas are the scaly, dinosaur-looking reptiles that both mesmerize and terrorize South Florida. They originally came to South Florida in the 1960s through the pet trade and are considered invasive because they\u2019ve disrupted indigenous food chains and undermined infrastructure through burrowing, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iguana populations have positively thrived in South Florida ever since arriving from warmer tropical climates; they\u2019re seen regularly strutting through parks, basking on sun-soaked concrete, and perched nonchalantly on tree branches. But something cartoonish happens when the temperature dips into the 40s: They literally freeze and fall out of trees.<\/p>\n

It may seem totally far-fetched to South Florida newbies, but anyone who\u2019s seen multiple winters here knows when temperatures get low enough, there\u2019s a chance for raining iguanas.<\/p>\n

The green iguana is a cold-blooded reptile, which means its body lacks the ability to regulate its internal temperature, unlike humans, who can regulate their body temperature through sweating. So when the temperature drops below 50 degrees, iguanas can become completely immobilized if they\u2019re exposed to the elements, according to iguanacontrol.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn colder conditions, their metabolism slows down and they become sluggish,\u201d according to the iguana wranglers\u2019 website. \u201cWhile immobilized, iguanas are at risk of injury or predation, but it is important to note that their immobilization is temporary and often reversible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Florida, for all its beauty, is filled with perils like hurricane season, road rage, and botched BBLs,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5884,5885,123,125,124,221],"class_list":{"0":"post-5333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-animals-wildlife","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-headlines","12":"tag-miami-news","13":"tag-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}