Arctic front moves through Friday night; Freeze Watch issued for Sunday

Get ready for the coldest air we’ve seen in four years arriving this weekend: A strong arctic front is set to move through Southwest Florida on Friday night.

Ahead of this front, Friday will be seasonably mild, with highs back in the low to mid-70s under a mix of sun and clouds.

Ahead of the front, look for a few fast moving showers Friday evening, but many likely won’t see much rain from this frontal passage.

The cold will start to settle in Saturday. Winds will be blustery out of the northwest, with gusts between 25 – 35 mph. This will continue to transport very cold air into the area, keeping highs in the 50s for most Saturday afternoon.

Look for some clouds to start Saturday, but sunshine will return for the afternoon.

Freeze Watches have been posted for areas along and east of I-75. They go into effect Saturday night through Sunday morning as we’re expecting lows to plummet to and below freezing for our inland zones by sunrise Sunday. Make sure to take steps to protect sensitive plants Saturday night!

Wind Chill Watches and Advisories have also been posted for some of our inland counties, as wind chills will get as cold as 20 degrees at times.

Plenty of sunshine will warm us up into the low 60s Sunday. The warming trend will continue into next week, with highs eventually back to 80 by Wednesday!