Tallahassee under hard freeze warning. Remember the 5 P's of cold weather preparedness

Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read

Saturday morning update:

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has issued a hard freeze warning for much of the Big Bend and parts of the Panhandle.

Much of North Florida and South Georgia are under a hard freeze warning as temperatures are expected to drop Sunday morning as low as the low 20s.
Much of North Florida and South Georgia are under a hard freeze warning as temperatures are expected to drop Sunday morning as low as the low 20s.

The warning, in effect from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday, includes Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Gadsden, Leon, Liberty, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

Temperatures are expected to plunge overnight into the low to mid-20s across the area.

Original story:

Tallahassee could see the coldest air of the winter this weekend as a powerful cold front pushes through the area, bringing the possibility of a hard freeze.

The frigid weather is the result of a strong upper-level low pressure system that could bring heavy snow to parts of the Northeast, said Jasmine Montgomery, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

"We're on the southern end of that," she said. "That's where our cold air is coming from."

The temperatures will begin to drop after a cold front moves through Friday afternoon. Lows Saturday morning are expected to plunge to the upper 20s and on Sunday morning a bit further to the mid-20s. Wind chill factors on Saturday could plummet to the low 20s to upper teens.

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"Especially with the wind chill, it's going to feel like the coldest air we've had so far," Montgomery said.

Tallahassee recorded its coldest mornings of the season on Sunday and Monday, when the low hit 26. The previous week also saw two mornings in the upper 20s. Last month, the low dipped below freezing only once, a couple of days before Christmas.

Early Saturday, the National Weather Service issued a hard freeze warning. A hard freeze happens in the Tallahassee forecast area when temperatures drop to 23 degrees or below.

The fountain on Landis Green on Florida State University’s campus as a mix of freezing rain, sleet and light snow hits Tallahassee on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.
The fountain on Landis Green on Florida State University’s campus as a mix of freezing rain, sleet and light snow hits Tallahassee on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.

"We haven't decided to issue one," Montgomery said, "but we are closely monitoring the situation."

The sub-freezing weather will likely trigger the opening of cold night shelters for people who are homeless. In a tweet, NWS-Tallahassee advised followers to remember the "5 P's of cold weather preparedness" – protect people, pets, pipes, plants and to practice weather safety.

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"It would be recommended to have a trickle of water running through the pipes overnight," she said. "If you have exposed pipes outside, you probably want to wrap them up. Keep your pets inside. Make sure everyone is warm indoors."

The cold spell isn't expected to last long. Forecasters say a weather pattern that has persisted for the past few weeks will finally begin to shift, allowing drier air to move in and temperatures to warm to the upper 60s or low 70s by Wednesday.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee, Florida could see hard freeze from winter storm