Florida – A sharp chill is settling across North Florida and South Georgia as the region braces for its coldest morning of the season. By Friday at sunrise, thermometers could plunge to 29°F in several inland areas, triggering the first widespread Freeze Warning of the fall-to-winter transition.
According to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, the Freeze Warning covers a wide swath of counties, including Suwannee, Baker, Nassau, Bradford, Union, Gilchrist, and Alachua in Florida and portions of Coffee, Appling, Wayne, and Pierce counties in Georgia. The warning is in effect from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday.
Residents are urged to protect sensitive plants and outdoor pets, and check on neighbors, especially the elderly or those without heat. The agency advises homeowners to cover exposed pipes and disconnect outdoor hoses as sub-freezing air settles in under clear skies.
Cold air continues to spill south from a deep trough over the eastern U.S., part of a broader December cold snap stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. Friday afternoon will stay crisp, with highs only reaching the upper 50s to near 60°F before another cold night.
Looking ahead, temperatures moderate slightly this weekend, with lows climbing into the upper 30s and 40s. Still, forecasters caution another early December frost could return by midweek as the cold pattern lingers.
