Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Monday, December 29, 2025
...Dense Fog Covers Much of the State this Morning Before Clearing Out Near Midday...Cold Front Moving Through North and Central Florida Today...Showers to Accompany Front, But Expected to Be Light...Breezy Winds to Follow Behind...Warmest Part of the Day for Panhandle and Western Big Bend this Morning and Midday Before Cooler Air Arrives...Seasonably Warm Conditions Continue for Much of the State...Front Dries Out As It Moves Through Central and South Florida Tonight...Much Cooler Air Arrives to I-10 Corridor Tonight...Wind Chills Drop Into 20s Across North Florida Tonight; Cold Weather Advisories for Panhandle Counties Tonight...Moderate to High Risk for Rip Currents Along Panhandle and East Coast Beaches...
Updated at 9:44 AM EST
Today's Threats:
|
No Threat |
Low Threat |
Medium Threat |
High Threat |
|
Lightning |
Tornado |
Damaging Wind/Hail |
Wildfire |
Fog (Overnight) |
Freeze (Overnight) |
Wind Chill (Overnight) |
Rip Currents |
|
Locally North & West-Central FL |
I-10 Corridor North Florida & Nature Coast |
Locally Panhandle North Florida & Nature Coast N-Central FL |
East-Central FL Panhandle & Northeast FL West Coast |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
Widespread dense fog covers much of the state this morning extending from the Suwannee Valley and through Lake Okeechobee, with Dense Fog Advisories expiring at 9:00 AM EST. Foggy conditions and low clouds will gradually lift and dissipate throughout the mid-morning hours and clearing out. A potent, but mostly dry, cold front will sweep through North and Central Florida today bringing a change in weather pattern from the last several days. This morning, isolated to widely scattered showers accompany the front as it moves across the I-10 corridor and shower activity will continue across the Big Bend and Northeast Florida through the afternoon (25-55% chance of rain). By the time the front reaches North-Central and Central Florida later this afternoon the rain chances will dissipate. Behind the cold front, gusty winds will follow behind reaching upwards of 20-25 mph across North Florida by the mid-afternoon hours.
High temperatures will reach the upper 60s to upper 70s throughout the state today, with portions of Southeast Florida reaching the lower 80s. The Panhandle and Big Bend will see their highest temperatures this morning and near midday as the front moving through during the daytime hours will usher much cooler air behind it.
This evening and overnight the cold front will continue to push through Central and South Florida reaching the Straits by sunrise Tuesday morning. The front will remain mostly dry as it moves through although a few light sprinkles may be possible (less than 10% chance of rain). Cloud cover will accompany the front, but otherwise clearer skies and dry conditions can be expected. Much colder air moves into North Florida overnight and clearing skies will allow temperatures to drop.
Low temperatures tonight across North Florida will fall into the 30s across North Florida, upper 30s to upper 40s across Central Florida and 50s to lower 60s across South Florida. Ongoing breezy winds overnight and cold temperatures will create feels-like temperatures (wind chills) in the lower to middle 20s across the Panhandle and middle to upper 20s across the Big Bend, Northeast Florida and towards Nature Coast by sunrise Tuesday morning. Cold Weather Advisories (Wind Chill Advisory) will go into effect tonight across the Panhandle and western Big Bend, and there may be a further extension eastward of advisories throughout the day. North-Central Florida can also expect to see feels-like temperatures in the lower to middle 30s.
Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30.
For the latest on the tropics, please visit the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at www.hurricanes.gov.
Rip Currents: A moderate to high risk for rip currents extends along the Panhandle and East Coast of Florida. West Coast beaches will continue to see a low risk. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Ocean swells will grow this afternoon along Panhandle beaches reaching 3-5’ behind a passing cold front bringing breezy northwesterly winds. Similarly, several East Coast beaches will see wave heights grow to 2-4’ along the coastline, with breaking waves upwards of 5’ along the First Coast. Big Bend and West Coast beaches will remain near 1-2’.
Red Tide was observed at background to medium concentrations in Bay County, very low to low concentrations in Gulf County, and background to very low concentrations in Franklin County. Across Southwest Florida, it was also observed at background concentrations offshore Hillsborough County. Red Tide was not observed along the Florida East Coast (valid 12/23).
Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding across Florida.
Fire Weather: Brief showers will accompany a potent cold front moving across North Florida and into Central Florida during the daytime hours. Mostly warm and above normal conditions will continue throughout the Peninsula. Behind the cold front, much cooler air and gusty winds will follow behind gradually moving from west to east. Wind gusts will increase to 20-25 mph by the afternoon hours, with locally stronger wind gusts possible, across North Florida. Little rainfall accumulation and the recent seasonably warm conditions will continue to promote sensitive wildfire conditions across North and West-Central Florida. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 29 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 191 acres.
Drought (12/24): Over the past two weeks, much of the Florida Peninsula has seen little in the way of rainfall outside of immediate coastal Southeast Florida where rainfall totals have only added up to 1-2”. As such, drought has expanded for parts of South and Central Florida on this weeks latest Drought Monitor outlook. A Moderate Drought (level 1 of 4) has been expanded north of Lake Okeechobee to include all of Highlands, Okeechobee, and interior Martin and St. Lucie counties. Over the last two weeks, these areas have seen nearly zero rainfall which has been exacerbated by warmer than normal temperatures for this time of year. A similar story is ongoing along coastal West-Central Florida where the Severe Drought (level 2 of 4) has also been expanded to include all interior Hardee and DeSoto counties, as well as southwest Polk county. The long-term (60 to 90 day) drought in these areas continues to worsen, with many areas between 6-8” below normal rainfall over the past two to three months. The Nature Coast has also seen a lack of rainfall in the long-term, with coastal Levy, Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties under a Severe Drought (level 2 of 4) with rainfall departures around 3-4” below normal over the past 2 months. Moderate Drought (level 1 of 4) has also been expanded away from the coast to include the interior counties of Sumter, Marion, and Putnam in Northeast Florida where similar rainfall departures over the past 2-3 months are found. Abnormally dry (emerging drought) has been introduced too all East-Central Florida, bringing 99% of the entire state of Florida under at least some classification of drought. Across North Florida and the Panhandle, very little changes were made to this week’s outlook. An Extreme Drought (level 3 of 4) remains in place over Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, and Jefferson counties with a Severe Drought (level 2 of 4) surrounding that. A Moderate Drought (level 1 of 4) occupies the rest of the I-10 corridor across the Panhandle and Northeast Florida. Very little meaningful rainfall is expected over the next week which will likely bring persistence, or worsening, drought levels on next weeks outlook. Although some water levels improved from recent rainfall over North Florida, dry conditions will begin to bring those back down slowly below normal levels.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 460 (+4) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 28 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 13.45 feet, which is within the operational band and is 1.20 feet below normal for this time of year.
