Freezing Temps To Hit Central FL: Latest Forecast

FLORIDA — Temperatures will continue to dip into the low 40s in the Tampa Bay area overnight Monday in the first big cold front of the season, forecasters said.

Areas further north in the state will see near or below freezing temperatures, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.

Freeze warnings are in place throughout Suwannee Valley and interior northeast Florida. Feels-like temperatures will fall into the 20s and 30s throughout north and central Florida by Tuesday morning, FDEM said.

Frost is also possible across northern Florida and the Nature Coast, the agency said.

“It's a heavy coat kind of morning north of Tampa today. Check out Brooksville down to 30 degrees right now,” Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist for ABC Action News, wrote in a Facebook post Monday morning. “Even colder weather is likely on Wednesday morning. If you're looking for warmer weather, you'll get that by the end of the week.”

The state will see “the coldest air of the season” so far Tuesday and Wednesday, WESH reported.

“Frosty conditions” are expected overnight Monday as far south as the Fort Myers and Naples area, News-Press reported.

Freeze warnings are likely to be issued for the Tampa area and north, the outlet said.

AccuWeather forecasters said that there could be pockets of snow reaching to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast depending on how cold the air is. "The amount and precise locations of that snow will depend on the track and intensity of the moisture-starved storm," AccuWeather said.

Meteorologists are tracking the possibility of a stronger storm during the second week of the month. While it is far out enough that specifics are not available, such a track typically allows the storm to capture much more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, which can potentially then unload heavier precipitation, AccuWeather said.

Here is the latest forecast in the Tampa Bay area from the National Weather Service:

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 67. North wind around 9 mph.
• Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 64. Wind chill values as low as 40 early. North wind 5 to 9 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 40. North northeast wind around 6 mph.
• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Northeast wind around 6 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Light northeast wind.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Calm wind.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
• Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.