Brrr! Treasure Coast kicks off 2023 with frost advisories and frigid temperatures
The fountains at Royal Palm Pointe in Vero Beach were shut off. Percy Peek Gym in Fort Pierce was transformed into a shelter. Snowbirds in Stuart faced temperatures hardly warmer than those they had fled up North.
It was a frigid weekend on the Treasure Coast, with the cold weather expected to persist through Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The cold front blew South through the tri-county area on Friday the 13th, leaving behind unseasonably low temperatures into Saturday.
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On Jan. 14, Vero Beach hit a low of 40 degrees, according to the National Weather Service — chilly, but far from the 1981 record of 28 degrees. The high was 56.
Fort Pierce dropped to 39 degrees Saturday, compared to the 1964 record low of 29 degrees. The high was 57.
Stuart posted a low of 41 and high of 76, compared to the 1981 record low of 32.
“Normal” Jan. 14 temperatures for these three cities hover between a low of 51 and high of 74, according to historical NWS records dating back to 1901. Still, meteorologist Derrick Weitlich wouldn’t call this past Saturday’s temperatures abnormal.
“It doesn’t happen too often,” said Weitlich, of the NWS office in Melbourne. “But … that does occur during our winter months from time to time.”
The threat wasn’t over. On Sunday morning, the NWS advised Treasure Coast residents to brace for “excessive cold impact.” Expected light winds increased the likelihood of frost, and a frost advisory, excluding coastal Martin, was issued for 2-8 a.m. Monday.
People who had planned to spend the holiday weekend in or on the water were encouraged to stay ashore, as the NWS forecast seas of 7-9 feet Sunday and “life-threatening rip currents” Monday.
It’s too soon to determine whether any local Jan. 15 temperature records — each 75 years old, set in 1948 — will be broken, but these were the temperatures as of about 11 a.m. Sunday:
Vero Beach: 35 (record is 29)
Fort Pierce: 34 (29)
Stuart: 42 (31).
“Tonight is the last really cold night,” Weitlich said Sunday. “After that, we start a gradual warming trend into the week.”
While some cold-weather shelters were scheduled to welcome guests Friday and/or Saturday night, others remained open. The nonprofit In the Image of Christ announced people would be welcome at the Percy Peek Gym, located at 2902 Avenue D in Fort Pierce, beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday and at 5 p.m. Monday. Call the Rev. Hazel Hoylman at 772-359-9653 for details.
The Source’s Dignity Buses, parked at 1015 Commerce Ave. in Vero Beach, housed 36 people Saturday night. The ministry provides emergency shelter year-round. For more information, call Anthony Zorbaugh at 772-564-0202.
Record highs, lows in December
The Treasure Coast may not have set any records yet in 2023, but it closed out 2022 with highs and lows for the books.
On Dec. 2, Vero Beach saw a record-high low of 73 degrees, breaking the 2009 record of 72.
On Dec. 13, Fort Pierce set a maximum rainfall record of 1.03 inches, exceeding 1 inch set in 2007.
On Dec. 25, Fort Pierce and Vero Beach witnessed their coldest Christmas Days on record with highs of 48 and 47 degrees, respectively. The previous record for each was 53 in 1989.
On Dec. 31, Vero Beach posted its hottest New Year’s Eve with a high of 87. The previous record of 85 was just a year old. Fort Pierce tied its 2021 record of 85 degrees on the last day of the year.
Lindsey Leake is TCPalm’s projects reporter. She has an M.A. in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in Journalism and Digital Storytelling from American University and a B.A. from Princeton University. Follow her on Twitter @NewsyLindsey, Facebook @LindseyMLeake and Instagram @newsylindsey. Call her at 772-529-5378 or email her at lindsey.leake@tcpalm.com.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Frosty 2023: New year brings cold to Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River
