By: Summer Livengood

It’s becoming cold in Florida? From January 30, 2022, till Feb 2, 2022, it dropped from the high 70s down to the low 50s (In Fahrenheit).  Now, tourists from cold states think this temperature is hot, but for the locals, it’s freezing. Seeing students and teachers wear  layers and layers of clothes. The temperature on January 22-29 had warm partly cloudy weather with spotty rain showers. On January 30, a slow cold front ran through Florida and up the coast. Florida usually stays in the high 60s in January for the first couple of weeks, but because of cold fronts, it went to the low 60s and high 50’s. In Orlando, it dropped to 36 degrees. Could it have snowed? Sadly no, the humidity was still high as it always is. 

There has only been one case when it snowed in Florida which happened in 1977 when it snowed in places like Marathon, Sugarloaf Key, Miami, and etc. They even canceled schools due to the cold weather and the frost. The cold weather not only affects Floridians, but also the state’s wildlife as many of its species aren’t used to cold weather. For example, many tropical fish such as Angelfish and Parrot Fish are dying since they can only survive in warm waters. Moreover, when iguanas get too cold, they get stunned and fall out of trees frozen. Some locals in Key West would even sell these frozen iguanas to tourists who then bring them home on cruise ships. When they started warming up, they would wake up and start running around and jumping off of boats and running around in rooms. Turning on heaters and bundling up. Families without heaters use their ovens and crack them open, to keep the warmth. 

The weather is starting to warm up with highs of 78, but there are still cold winds and cloudy weather for now and in the future. Make sure to stay warm and remember not to bring any cold-stunned animals home.