Florida will shiver after Thanksgiving when a cold front brings it down to the 50s

How much are you looking forward to a beautiful Thanksgiving day so that you can get outside?

And how much are you hoping for a real cold front to give Florida at least a little taste of the season?

If you really want these things, then you have reason to be thankful.

Mother Nature, who has been rather rotten this busy hurricane season, is feeling charitable.

Thanksgiving weather

Your Thanksgiving is going to be pleasant and dry, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Miami say. Just a small craft advisory in the Florida Keys, which, too, will be sunny and comfy with temperatures ranging from 73 degrees to 83 degrees through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Key West.

Bradenton is looking at a bountiful 83 degrees high and 64 degree low on Thursday.

“Looking great,” is how WPLG meteorologist Julie Durda describes Thanksgiving on Thursday. “It will be mostly dry with high pressure dominating so it will be in the mid-80s, a great day to be outdoors,” Durda said.

This will, perhaps, please worried health officials in Miami-Dade and elsewhere who are concerned that large gatherings indoors on Thanksgiving will help spread the surging coronavirus.

With the good weather returning on Black Friday, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures at or just under 80 degrees for a high from West Palm Beach to Tampa Bay, you can enjoy many outdoor Florida-styled activities. (Socially-distanced and masked, mind you.)

One warning, though. The weather service posted a hazardous weather outlook due to an elevated rip current risk at South Florida beaches through the weekend. Swimming won’t be a good idea as “marine/beach hazards are the main story but even those will begin to subside,” according to the weather service.

No such warnings for the Gulf side of Florida as winds will be calm and just blowing at 5 mph Thanksgiving afternoon in Bradenton.

Expect temperatures ranging from a high of 84 degrees to a low of 70 on Thanksgiving, with just a 10% chance of rain in South Florida, Durda said on Twitter.

These mild temperatures and sunny skies will prevail into the weekend, said WSVN meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez.

The high pressure will be in control, she posted on Twitter, and “will block all fronts toward the north and their associated rain from pushing south into South Florida. This will keep us mainly dry into the weekend outside of isolated sprinkles.”

‘Coldest air of the season’

Then, the big change.

“Early next week, however, some rain and a strong cool down is expected as a front will sweep through South Florida, possibly bringing a 10-degree temperature drop along with it,” Gonzalez wrote.

So if you’re hoping for some cool air — some real cool air, for a change — hold on to your Thanksgiving stuffing leftovers. They’ll be a nice blanket for the belly.

“The first few days of December won’t disappoint,” Durda said. “The coldest air of the season.”

How cold?

Expect a high of 70 degrees and a low of 58 on Tuesday after the cold front arrives in South Florida Monday evening, forecasters say. Bradenton is looking at a low of 54 degrees Monday night and the high will only hit 66 on Tuesday and 63 degrees in Tampa, according to the weather service.

Rain chances grow to 40% Monday ahead of the chilly air.