First cold front of the dry season to hit Southwest Florida

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
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The first cold front of the dry season will arrive in Southwest Florida on Wednesday.
The first cold front of the dry season will arrive in Southwest Florida on Wednesday.

The first cold front of the dry season will arrive Wednesday with forecasted lows in the 50s in some areas of Southwest Florida.

The National Weather Service is projecting highs in the mid to upper 70s, and lows are forecasted to dip into the high 60s and high 50s with Sarasota facing a low of 59 degrees on Wednesday.

Daniel Noah, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said it’s the first real cold front of the dry season. But it won’t last too long, as temperatures are expected to get back to normal by Sunday with highs in the middle 80s.

“If you’re a Floridian, you’re going to love it,” Noah said. “If you’re in Minnesota, and you just got down here, you’re going go, ‘Oh, what’s the big deal.’”

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Noah said it’ll be seasonably unusual with temperatures dipping 15 degrees below the average for the season.

This doesn’t necessarily mean cooler weather will be the norm now, Noah said. It’ll get humid after this, followed by another cold front, transitioning to the cooler winter weather.

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Drier air will lead to drier grass, which will lead to higher fire weather threats, Noah said. He asks residents to be mindful when outdoors and to be responsible with putting out cigarettes and campfires.

The cold front also doesn’t necessarily mean major storms are no longer anticipated since hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.

“They might not get names, but things are still happening out there, and we got to keep an eye on the tropics through November,” Noah said.

The last taste of fall came with a cooler day or two after Hurricane Ian left the area on Sept. 30.

Noah said that this was the result of cooler, drier air that originated in Canada and spilled into Florida. As Hurricane Ian moved into the Atlantic, its rotating winds brought cooler air from the north.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: First cold front of the dry season comes to SW FL