11:10 AM | *How cold was it? It was so cold in Florida on Sunday that iguanas were falling out of the trees*
Paul Dorian
Overview
On the heels of the Nor’easter that brought tremendous snowfall to many coastal sections of the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US, Arctic air plunged southward all the way down to southern Florida bringing that state some of its lowest temperatures in more than a decade. According to accuweather.com, a record low of 46 degrees was set on Sunday morning at Marathon, Florida, records were tied at Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, and it fell to the freezing mark as far south as Big Cypress National Preserve. In fact, it got so cold across Florida on Sunday morning that cold-shocked iguanas were actually falling out of trees. These cold-blooded lizards usually survive a “cold-shock” like this when temperatures fall into the 30’s or 40’s and “wake up” as temperatures rise. The Arctic air that plunged into southern Florida this weekend had its origins way up in the southern part of Alaska.
The air that reached southern Florida this weekend had its origins way up in southern Alaska. Data courtesy NOAA
Details
A northerly flow of air on the backside of this weekend’s Nor’easter pushed Arctic air all the way down into southern Florida where some spots hadn’t seen these kind of temperatures since 2010. Temperatures dropped to 42 degrees at Miami International Airport and even Key West fell to 50 degrees…unusually cold for that part of the Sunshine State. A look at a “backward trajectory” plot shows that the air parcels that reached southern Florida on Sunday had their origins way up in southern Alaska several days earlier. This air mass took a path that avoided any potential warming effects from bodies of water including managing to avoid going over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
A dog investigates an iguana that fell out of a tree in Melbourne, FL on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022 (Photo courtesy AccuWeather, M. Swain)
With respect to the iguanas, these lizards are cold-blooded and slow down or become immobile when temperatures drop into the 40’s. They actually become lethargic at about 50 degrees and when temperatures reach around 40 degrees their blood doesn’t move around as quickly and they’ll often stiffen up as a result and fall out of trees in which they frequent. Once the temperatures rise, the iguanas will usually “wake up” and be on their merry way, but if the cold snap is for an extended period of time, they may not survive. In this particular case, most of the iguanas sprung “back-to-life” by early afternoon as temperatures rebounded to more reasonable levels.
Iguanas aren’t dangerous or aggressive to humans, but they damage seawalls, sidewalks, landscape foliage and can dig lengthy tunnels. The males can grow to at least 5 feet long and weigh nearly 20 pounds. Female iguanas can lay nearly 80 eggs a year, and South Florida’s warm climate is perfect for the prehistoric-looking animals. Iguanas are native to Central America, tropical parts of South America and some Caribbean islands. Iguanas are allowed to be kept as pets in Florida, but are not protected by any law except anti-cruelty to animals. They’ve been in South Florida since the 1960’s, but their numbers have increased dramatically in recent years.
It was another cold morning on Monday in Florida with some of the lows listed here. Data courtesy Miami National Weather Service
A two-week cold snap with temperatures below 40 degrees in 2010 actually killed off many iguanas, along with Burmese pythons and other invasive pests that thrive in South Florida’s subtropical climate. This weekend's cold snap, however, was rather short-lived and temperatures this afternoon are likely to approach the 70 degree mark in Miami.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com