It was a cold and damp start to our Wednesday, but conditions started to improve during the afternoon.

Low pressure skirting our coast brought widespread showers Wednesday morning and into the early afternoon hours.

We did clear out quickly with sunshine returning late in the day. Temperatures began in the 30s and only warmed to around 50 degrees.

Dry air is moving in quickly and skies will be clear through the overnight hours. With colder air continuing to move in from the north, temperatures will plummet. Most of Central Florida will fall to around 32 degrees and below.

There is a Freeze Warning in effect and even a Hard Freeze Warning for Marion, Sumter, and Flagler counties with temperatures below freezing expected between 4-6 hours.

Temperatures will not warm up much for Thursday, although we will see plenty of sunshine. Highs will climb to around 50 degrees.

Breezy winds will make it feel even colder. Central Florida will stay chilly through Friday and then gradually warm back up this weekend. Highs by Sunday will in the upper 60s with even mid-70s next Monday.

A freeze warning means temperatures are expected to stay at 32 degrees or less for 4 to 6 hours, while a hard freeze warning is temperatures at or below 26 degrees for several hours.

Our temperatures will not warm up much for Thursday, although we will see plenty of sunshine. Highs will climb to around 50 degrees. Breezy winds will make it feel even colder.

Central Florida will stay chilly through Friday and then gradually warm back up this weekend. Highs by Sunday will in the upper 60s with even mid-70s next Monday.

Power outages

Thousands of Duke Energy customers in Orange, Lake and Seminole counties endured power outages for short periods. Late in the morning, the company reported almost 1,700 customers were without power in the Oviedo area. Power was restored by noon.

In Orange County, about 900 Duke customers were without power near Apopka. A Duke Energy representative said strong winds affected a piece of equipment. Power was expected to be restored to that area by 4:30 p.m., Duke said.

A 2,200-customer Duke outage was reported at about noon in the Lockhart area. The area is just south of Bear Lake, near Bear Lake Road and State Road 414.

In Union Park, near East Colonial Drive and Alafaya Trail, about 730 customers lost power. And in Union Park, just north of the East-West Expressway and west of State Road 417, about 450 customers were without power.

Duke said the company was anticipating continuous scattered outages through the cold weather, which is causing added stress on its systems.

Manatees search for warmth

In Volusia County, manatees continue to flock to Blue Spring State Park. The spring is set at a constant 72 degrees, so the manatees go there when they are cold. The park counted 387 of the sea cows Wednesday, up from 314 Tuesday. 

The record for manatees at the spring, by the way, is 466. You can see the manatees using the park's ManateeCam.

Snow, freezing rain elsewhere in Florida

An area of low pressure deepening off our east coast has been swinging a good slug of moisture back across much of Florida today, and with enough cold air in place across the north, we've seen freezing rain as far south as Gainesville.

In Tallahassee, residents Spectrum News 13 viewer Eva Lebron-Puerta shared videos of snowfall there from husband, Eduardo Puerta:

 

 

 

And even the Tallahassee Police Department tweeted about the snow. 

No snow expected here at home

Back home in the Central Florida area, there's no snow or freezing rain, but as the cold rain comes to an end, a round of the coldest air of the season is set to slide in.

We’ll clear out the sky tonight, and temperatures will quickly drop into the 20s and 30s.

A freeze warning is in effect late tonight, so prep your plants and keep an eye on your pets in this frigid cold air.

 

Sun will return Thursday and into the weekend, but highs will stay in the 50s through Saturday. We may be close to 70 by Sunday, and into the 70s Monday and Tuesday.

If wanting to go to the beach or out on the boat, conditions will remain hazardous with breezy winds sticking around. A Small Craft Advisory continues through Friday.

Volusia County beaches remain closed because of wave action and debris flowing up onto the beach. Elsewhere, conditions aren’t good to be in the water with a strong northeast swell chopping up wave heights that are over 6 to 8 feet at times. We’ll see big improvement Thursday, with fair to good conditions in the surf.

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