Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
...Cold Start this Morning Throughout North and Central Florida With Near and Sub-Freezing Wind Chills...Cold Front to Push Offshore Today...Very Dry and Cold Air SInking Into the Whole State...Elevated Wildfire Conditions Statewide; Localized Dangerous Conditions Possible...Bitter Cold Temperatures Overnight Throughout North and Central Florida - Sub-Freezing Temperatures...Freeze Watches Across Suwannee Valley and North-Central Florida to Likely Become Warnings...Wind Chills In the 20s and 30s for North and Central Florida and 30s to Lower 40s Across South Florida Tonight - Cold Weather Advisories...Moderate to High Risk for Rip Currents Statewide...
Updated at 10:05 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 Statewide |
North & Central FL Interior South FL |
Locally North & Central Florida Interior South FL
|
West-Central FL, Palm Beach and Gulf Counties Statewide |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
North and portions of Central Florida are off to a cold start this morning with winds chills near and below freezing. Cold Weather Advisories will remain in effect along the Panhandle and western Big Bend through 10:00 AM EST/9:00 AM CST for bitter wind chills this morning. Yesterday’s cold front will finally push off from the southern Peninsula and move away from the Keys today and may bring a few light sprinkles to the Keys this morning. Behind the cold front much colder and drier air will sink into the state bringing a change in the weather pattern from the last several days and keep breezy winds in place with wind gusts of 15-20 mph. Mostly sunny conditions can be expected, with a few clouds mixed in throughout the day. Elevated winds and very dry conditions (relative humidity values near 25-30%) will lead to elevated wildfire conditions across the state due to ongoing drought conditions. Localized dangerous wildfire conditions cannot be ruled out over areas where there is a higher fire danger with dry vegetation and severe drought conditions. Mostly clear skies can be expected throughout the overnight hours leading to temperatures to cool down even further. Northerly to northwesterly winds will allow for the cold air to push very far south through the entire state. With the colder temperatures and elevated winds, instances of frost may be possible in more shaded areas early Wednesday morning.
High temperatures will be in the upper 40s to lower 50s across North Florida, middle 50s to lower 60s across Central Florida and middle 60s to lower 70s across South Florida. Low temperatures will fall into the middle to upper 20s across North Florida, lower to middle 30s throughout interior Central Florida and upper 30s to lower 40s along the coasts, upper 30s to middle 40s across interior South Florida and middle 40s to lower 50s along the coasts. Freeze Watches throughout the Suwannee Valley and North-Central Florida will likely become Freeze Warnings later today ahead of near or below freezing temperatures overnight. Feels-like temperatures will be sub-freezing (20s and lower 30s) throughout North and Central Florida by sunrise Wednesday morning. Even portions of South Florida will see feels-like temperatures in the 30s by early Wednesday morning. Cold Weather Advisories (Wind Chill Advisories) will go into effect nearly statewide overnight for near or below freezing.
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: Breezy northerly to northwesterly winds and large ocean swells will create a moderate to high risk for rip currents statewide. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Large ocean swells of 3-5’ can be expected across all beaches throughout the state, with larger breaking waves upwards of 6’ within the surf zones along Treasure Coast and West Coast.
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: Elevated wildfire conditions can be expected across the Sunshine State today as much drier and colder air filters into the state from yesterday’s cold front. Dry air will cause relative humidity values to fall below critical thresholds this afternoon, except for immediate coastal portions of the Peninsula (25-30%). Elevated wind gusts of 15-20 mph will persist throughout the day, also contributing to the elevated wildfire risk especially with the expanding and ongoing drought conditions. Winds will not be strong enough to produce Red Flag conditions throughout the day. Localized significant wildfire conditions cannot be ruled out for those areas with the worse drought conditions and dry vegetation. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 31 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 336 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 465 (+5) 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 13.44 feet, which is within the operational band and is 1.21 feet below normal for this time of year.
