Cool Florida

The cold air has mostly passed. . . but the evenings are still chilly over the Florida peninsula.  In an odd fluke of topography, geography and thermodynamics it is colder over the southern peninsula tonight than in the north.  We may see some isolated frost. . . but it is likely there will be frost on the outskirts of the Palm Beaches and Lake Okeechobee tonight.

Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida and the 7th largest freshwater lake in the United States. . .covering some 730 square miles (1,900 sq. km).  It has an average depth of only 9 feet (3 m). . . and I would suspect it is somewhat lower than that today due to the ongoing dry conditions.  Okeechobee is easily picked out on any map or satellite image of Florida (below).

The most likely area for frost is over the southern peninsula as indicated in the graphic above.

By noon today it was again balmy, with temperatures in the low 70°s (21° C) common across the central peninsula.  The flip-flop in temperatures will accelerate tomorrow with abnormally warm temperatures forecast for the foreseeable furture.

A Cormorant in the sunset.  This bird is in the family Phalacrocoracidae.  There are 40 species in the family and without a closer look I couldn't say for sure which one this was.  It is an nice Florida shot, regardless.