Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
...Another Cold Morning Across the State...Freeze Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories Through the Mid-Morning Hours...Sunshine Continues But Temperatures Will Still Feel Cooler Than Normal...Chance for Isolated Showers Along the Southeast Florida Coast Later this Afternoon...Widespread Freezing Temperatures Expected Again Tonight for North and Central Florida...Sub-Freezing to Freezing Wind Chills Through Southwest Florida...Instances of Frost Possible...Moderate Risk for Rip Currents Nearly Statewide; High Risk Along Southwest Florida...
Updated at 9:53 AM EST
Today's Threats:
|
No Threat |
Low Threat |
Medium Threat |
High Threat |
|
Lightning |
Tornado |
Damaging Wind/Hail |
Wildfire |
Fog (Overnight) |
Freeze (Overnight) |
Wind Chills (Overnight) |
Rip Currents |
|
Locally Statewide |
North Florida Interior Central FL South-Central FL
|
Locally North & Central Florida Interior Southwest Florida |
Southwest FL Statewide |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
Freeze Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories remain in effect across most of the state through the mid-morning hours due to another cold start and elevated wind chills. A few isolated showers have developed just off the Southeast Florida coast this morning and may drift onto the immediate coastline of the Southeast Metro this afternoon and early evening (15-30% chance of rain). Should any activity manage to drift onshore, it will remain light and brief. Temperatures will continue to slowly warm throughout the day with the help of sunshine and dry nearly statewide. Despite the sunshine lingering wind gusts of 10-15 mph may make conditions feel slightly cooler than the actual temperatures.
High temperatures this afternoon will return to the 50s across North Florida, upper 50s to lower 60s across Central Florida and middle to upper 60s across South Florida. Those afternoon feels-like temperatures will remain in the middle 40s to lower 50s across North Florida and lower to middle 50s across Central Florida this afternoon.
Widespread freezing conditions can be expected again tonight even with temperatures slowly warming up. Low temperatures will fall into the middle 20s to lower 30s across North Florida and along the Nature Coast, lower to middle 30s across interior Central Florida, with the coasts remaining closer to the upper 30s, and the upper 30s to upper 40s across South Florida tonight. Freeze Warnings are expected to go into effect for much of Northeast Florida and the interior Peninsula tonight and through the early morning hours on Thursday. Trends will be monitored throughout the day to see if conditions will allow for Hard Freeze conditions along the Panhandle and extend Freeze Warnings into the area, but as of right now confidence is too low. With lighter winds anticipated tonight we could instances of frost development. Feels-like temperatures near sunrise Thursday morning will remain in the middle 20s to lower 30s across much of the state through interior portions of Southwest Florida. Cold Weather Advisories will extend beyond Lake Okeechobee tonight and into Thursday morning for sub-freezing to freezing wind chills expected.
Rip Currents: Dissipating ocean swells and ongoing northwesterly winds will create a moderate risk for rip currents across numerous beaches. Southeast Florida will continue to see a high risk. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Ocean swells along the Florida East Coast will continue to slowly dissipate today but still lead to wave heights reaching 3-5’ with the Southeast Florida coast reaching upwards of 6’. Panhandle and West Coast beaches will see calmer conditions near 1-3’.
Red Tide was observed at background concentrations in Bay and Franklin counties and very low concentrations in Walton and Gulf County. It was not observed along the East Coast or in Southwest Florida (valid 1/23/2026).
Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding across Florida.
Fire Weather: Very dry air has settled into the state and will lead to relative humidity values falling near and below critical thresholds to Lake Okeechobee and even into portions of Southwest Florida (15-30%). Wind gusts are expected to remain light near 10-15 mph; however, stronger gusts begin to develop just off the Florida West Coast later this afternoon. Despite some critical relative humidity values, winds will not be strong enough for Red Flag Conditions. Cooler than normal temperatures can be expected to continue, especially during the overnight period where widespread freezing conditions are expected through the I-4 corridor into Thursday morning. Sensitive to locally elevated wildfire conditions persist given the ongoing and expanding drought conditions across the state. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 43 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 1129 acres.
Drought (1/22/26): Light precipitation was observed across Florida over the past 7 days, with portions of the interior Florida Panhandle receiving precipitation as snowfall! However, rain and snow totals of 0.25 to 1” were insufficient to produce meaningful drought improvement. Rainfall totals continue to trend below for this time of year, both in the middle to long-range guidance, and streamflows across North Florida remain below low-flow thresholds. As a result, expansions of both moderate (level 1 of 4) and severe (level 2 of 4) drought were observed throughout the Sunshine State, particularly for the Florida Big and areas south of the I-4 corridor. Extreme drought (level 3 of 4) persists over the interior eastern Florida Panhandle and Big Bend as 60-day rainfall deficits continue to run at 2-3.5” below normal for this time of year. This now brings over 92% of the state is under a moderate drought (level 1 of 4) or worse on this week’s Drought Monitor update.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 475 (+1) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 33 Florida counties that have an average KBDI above 500 (drought/increased fire danger).
Flash Flooding: There is no organized risk for flash flooding today.
Riverine Flooding: There are no riverine concerns across Florida. For more information, visit the River Forecast Center.
Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 12.90 feet, which is within the operational band and is 1.79 feet below normal for this time of year.
