New Year’s Weekend Weather: Chilly Start For Tampa Bay Area

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay area may once again earn bragging rights for the best holiday weather in the country. Residents and visitors, however, will have to endure a few bumps along way to near postcard-perfect New Year's Day weather.

According to the National Weather Service, the New Year’s weekend will is expected to start off on a chilly note. While sunny conditions are expected throughout the day Friday, the high temperature isn’t anticipated to climb above the low 60s.

Folks may want to pull out their jackets for the overnight hours Friday and into early Saturday morning, too. Forecasters expect lows in the 30s in parts of the region. That prospect has even prompted Pasco County to announce the opening of one of its cold weather shelters. Not all parts of the region will be quite as cold though. Lows in the 40s are anticipated in areas like Tampa and Sarasota.

Boaters and beachgoers are being asked to take care on local waters. The weather service has issued a high surf advisory and rip current statement for Friday. Expected wind gusts up to gale force on local waters also have forecasters warning small craft operators to keep their boats at dock until at least 4 p.m.

Landlubbers, too, are being warned that conditions are ripe for the development of wildfires. A red flag warning has been issued for the region until Friday night. Forecasters are urging residents to skip outdoor burning on Friday.

While Friday might not be a banner day for those who don’t love chilly weather, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are expected to bring warmer temperatures.

Forecasters say the high on Saturday, Dec. 31 should reach the low 70s in much of the region. Mostly sunny conditions are expected. Overnight lows will fall into the upper 60s in much of the Tampa Bay area.

New Year’s Day will bring a return of temperatures in the 80s, the weather service reports. Mostly sunny conditions with a high in the low 80s are expected. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the overnight hours with a low in the mid- to upper-60s.

Rain isn’t a part of the forecast over the holidays, but it does creep back into the forecast for Monday. There’s a 30 percent chance of storms on Monday during the daytime hours. Those chances stick around in the evening, too.

As for those bragging rights on New Year’s Day, here’s a look at projected highs across the country for Jan. 1, 2017, according to the weather service:

• Boston, Massachusetts – 43 degrees
• Hartford, Connecticut – 42 degrees
• New York, New York – 45 degrees
• Detroit, Michigan – 36 degrees
• Chicago, Illinois – 38 degrees
• Atlanta, Georgia – 55 degrees (with a 90 percent chance of rain)
• Houston, Texas – 76 degrees (with showers and thunderstorms possible)
• Los Angeles, California – 59 degrees
• Billings, Montana – 18 degrees (with a 70 percent chance of snow)

For an extended forecast in your neighborhood, visit your local Patch’s homepage.

Patch file photo