JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The next “Buresh Blog” update will be the week of March 16th.
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Yet another freeze early Tue., Feb. 24th - the 22nd of the season so far for Jacksonville (JIA) which is 8 above the seasonal average. Most of NE Florida - especially closer to I-95 and the beaches is at their *average* date (meaning 50% of the time, the last freeze will be earlier, 50% of the time the last freeze will be later) for a last freeze - 32 degrees F or lower. The average date for inland SE Ga. is after March 1st.
Jacksonville is at the threshold of a 7am sunrise as daylight increases heading toward the Vernal Equinox or first day of spring. But realize sunrise will go back to near 7:45am March 8th when we “spring forward” & move clocks forward one hour for daylight time.
Turning the calendars to March - the averages for Jacksonville:
To go along with pythons, invasive monitor lizards are becoming a mounting problem for parts of South Florida - though still listed as “contained” on the invasion curve (CISMA). From Florida Fish & Wildlife:
Nile monitors are not native to Florida and are considered an invasive species due to their impacts to native wildlife. Like all nonnative reptile species, Nile monitors are not protected in Florida except by anti-cruelty law.
According to EDDMapS (maps * here *):
- Lee County: 1,616 sightings
- Palm Beach County: 299
- Miami-Dade: 76
- Broward: 68
USGS stated the species is firmly established in Lee County and spreading into Charlotte County. FWC confirmed established populations in Lee and Palm Beach counties, with additional reports across South Florida.
Recent confirmed sightings include:
- Cape Coral in Lee County, Aug. 7, 2025
- Boynton Beach in Palm Beach, Sept. 10, 2025
- Broward, Jan. 16, 2024
- Miami-Dade, Nov. 19, 2021