Our stretch of nights at or below 34 degrees will come to an end at JIA Thu. night/Fri. morning making it 13 straight nights easily beating the record of 9 set in 2001 & 1977.
It's been the
coldest first 13 days of the yr. ever in Jax & the
coldest 13 day period on record (going back to 1871). According the our Jax N.W.S., the avg. temp. for the 13 days ending Wed. was 37.8 degrees -- almost 2 degrees lower than #2 - 39.6 degrees in 1940 & #3 - 39.8 degrees in 1977. We even had some ice fog early Thu. -- click
here for an explanation from the Jax N.W.S.
We will now go into about 2 weeks of decidedly milder temps. but with, of course, some fluctuations as storm systems move across the area. But arctic -- & most polar -- air will be bottled up well to the north. Still...the subtropical jet will be very active which means we'll have bouts of rain, some heavy. Early indications are that Feb. will go back to the colder pattern.
Our first round of rain arrives this weekend with 100% coverage late Sat. through early Sun. But Sat. morning & Sun. afternoon look o.k. -- not a weekend washout, in other words.
You've probably noticed a lot of smoke around the area recently. The Fl. Division of Forestry is conducting controlled burns that will continue for at least the next 2-3 months. It's an attempt to leave less fuel for potential wildfires. The recent cold is a concern as it's left vegetation brown & dry. Our fire season peaks in April & May. The photo below is from Liz B. in Taylor, FL. -- a smoke-filled sky from a controlled burn in Baker Co. Thu. afternoon.
Last week the Nat. Hurricane Center issued a public statement regarding the issuance of watches & warnings with more lead time (by 12 hrs.). This was discussed at last year's Nat. Hurr. Conference in Austin, TX & will be put into operation for the upcoming hurricane season. Click here for more info.
