JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville experienced its eighth freeze of the winter season Tuesday morning, and the afternoon only reached into the low 50s marking the coldest afternoon since the 44-degree afternoon on Jan. 21, 2024, following a hard morning freeze of 28 degrees.
Alongside the icy start came a first for the city: the issuance of a Cold Weather Advisory. While the term may be new to Jacksonville, it reflects the kind of cold outbreaks that regularly affect the region during the winter months.
A Cold Weather Advisory is issued when seasonably cold air temperatures or wind chill values pose a potential hazard. In Northeast Florida, this advisory is triggered when wind chills drop to between 16–25 degrees, while South Georgia sees advisories issued for wind chills of 11–20 degrees.
In more extreme circumstances, the alert is upgraded to an Extreme Cold Warning, reserved for wind chills below 10 degrees in Georgia or 15 degrees in Northeast Florida.
Tuesday’s advisory marked the first use of the simplified winter weather alert system implemented by the National Weather Service (NWS) in October. The streamlined approach aims to highlight the dangers of cold weather, whether or not strong winds are present.
According to the NWS, “These changes seek to clarify that cold can be dangerous with or without wind, addressing a common misconception that extreme cold is only tied to colder temperatures when there is wind. Dangerously cold weather can accompany or follow wintry precipitation, and the cold messaging can be overshadowed by the wintry precipitation.”
Tuesday officially became the coldest afternoon since Jan. 21 of last year, when the high reached only 44°F following a hard morning freeze of 28°F.
Tonight, Jacksonville will see a Freeze Warning instead of another Cold Weather Advisory due to lighter winds, which will keep wind chill values from dipping as low. However, Wednesday could bring a return of the advisory as stronger overnight winds are expected to drive wind chills back into the low to mid-20s.
As winter’s grip tightens over the next couple of weeks, remember to bundle up, bring pets indoors, and take precautions to protect plants and pipes. The new alert system may simplify the messaging, but the risks of cold weather remain unchanged with several more freezes expected this week and next week.