Chilly weather is indeed comin’ to town — just a little early for Christmas.
Muggy, warm air has plagued the area over the past few days, leading to foggy mornings and unseasonably warm afternoons.
But a series of cold fronts late this week will cause temperatures to plummet Saturday, though the cooler weather is likely to be the last cold blast before next week’s holidays in Tampa Bay.
A rush of cooler air on Thursday pushed out much of the humid air, and a second, “reinforcing front” late Friday will sink temperatures Saturday to the low 60s during the day and the mid-40s at night, said Ali Davis, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office.
“Much more holiday-ee,” Davis said of the cold weather.
Saturday is likely to be the chilliest day of the cold front.
A weather service forecast showed much of the region would struggle to reach 60 degrees that day, while nighttime temperatures would likely remain in the mid to low 40s.
By Sunday, temperatures will creep up and by Christmas Eve on Tuesday, the high is likely to be in the mid to upper 70s. By the following day, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah, daytime temperatures will lean the same.
“Which is actually just maybe a few degrees above average for this time of year,” Davis said. “So it’ll be cooler than it was earlier this week, but still above average.”
Davis said the weather service does not expect any rain or fog over the next few days. There is a slight chance of some sprinkles after Wednesday, she said.
While temperatures are more likely to run in the 70s this time of year, Tampa Bay has had a few cold Christmases.
In 2022, the mercury dropped below freezing on Christmas, resulting in the coldest day for the holiday in over 30 years in Tampa Bay.
The trophy for the coldest Tampa Bay Christmas remains with 1983, when pipes burst, oranges froze solid and blackouts caused havoc across Tampa Bay.
Next week’s holiday is likely to be a picture of a Florida Christmas, sunny and just a little too warm for a sweater.