Florida Freeze Watch: Are temperatures cold enough for falling iguanas?

ORLANDO – Frigid temperatures have been infiltrating the U.S. over the past several days, and Florida hasn’t been immune to the bitter blast of cold air.

Freeze Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories were issued for most of the Sunshine State on Thursday morning, with the Freeze Warnings isolated to portions of Central Florida and the Jacksonville area, while the Cold Weather Advisories expanded across the Florida Panhandle and Florida Peninsula.

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This graphic shows freeze alerts in effect through Friday morning.

(FOX Weather)

The National Weather Service office in Jacksonville said it was expecting temperatures to dip below freezing early Thursday morning, with wind chill values reaching into the lower 20s that had forecasters worried about exposure to hypothermia and frostbite.

While most of the winter weather alerts expired Thursday morning, a renewed concern for freezing temperatures overnight Thursday into Friday morning has prompted additional Freeze Warnings for portions of northern Florida from 10 p.m. Thursday until 9 a.m. Friday.

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That’s because temperatures aren’t expected to rebound all that much during the day, allowing them to plummet again after sunset.

Jacksonville is only expected to remain in the upper 40s to lower 50s on Thursday, while Orlando is expected to get into the mid-50s.

Portions of South Florida, including the Clewiston area, were expected to get into the lower 60s on Thursday.

Are temperatures cold enough for falling iguanas?

While it’s true cold-stunned iguanas occasionally fall from trees in South Florida, don’t expect to get knocked out by a falling reptile in the Sunshine State this week.

WHEN DO IGUANAS FALL FROM TREES IN SOUTH FLORIDA?

It needs to be very cold (by Florida standards) to impact the iguanas.

(FOX Weather)

In previous years when temperatures were forecast to drop into the lower 40s, the National Weather Service office in Miami issued a “falling iguana” warning to residents.

However, the FOX Forecast Center said that temperatures in Miami are not expected to fall into the 40s during this ongoing arctic blast, so there appears to be no current threat to the lizard-like reptile.