Coldest air of the season is here; freeze watches and warning issued

ORLANDO, Fl - Some of the coldest air of the season so far is currently flowing into Florida.

The National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings all across the central and northern parts of the Florida Peninsula as temperatures drop to freezing or slightly below 32 degrees.  The coldest temperatures will likely occur Wednesday morning as we approach sunrise.

As of right now, freeze warnings have been issued for all of Alachua, Gilchrist, Lake, Levy, Marion, and Sumter counties until 10 a.m Wednesday morning. Western portions of Flagler and Volusia counties are also under a freeze warning, and a hard freeze can be expected in Alachua, Gilchrist, and Marion counties. 

Central Floridians woke up to wind chill temperatures in the 20s Wednesday morning!

"Low pressure sitting over the Carolinas is pulling Arctic air down into Florida," said FOX 35 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Richards.  

Widespread frost advisories are also issued for the Orlando metropolitan area, though Richards believes weather conditions will prohibit any real damaging frost.

"The air is too dry, and the big reason: too much wind!  It will be very windy with the wind blowing around 15 to 20 miles per hour, making it feel colder.  Because of this, there is a wind chill advisory that goes all the way down to Fort Lauderdale."

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Notice the freeze line and how close it comes to Orange and Seminole Counties. It's a razor-thin margin but, it looks like, at least right now, that metro Orlando and the surrounding suburbs will avoid a true freeze late tonight into Wednesday morning.  A wind chill advisory has been issued for the rest of the FOX 35 viewing area, effective between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

For those who can't wait for the warm weather to come back, good news: by Thursday, we'll be back in the 70s with plenty of sunshine for the weekend.

Be sure to download the FOX 35 Weather App to get updates on watches and warnings for your area.