January was very cold in Florida. What does the weather look like for February?

ORLANDO, Fla. – January has been COLD! Real cold.

Florida recently experienced a taste of winter with freezing temperatures covering much of the peninsula in a traditional seasonal display.

The temperatures are now starting to climb back to normal as we head into the last week of the month, with the mercury reaching the low to mid-70s as we kick off the week and move closer to February.

From there? It gets even warmer.

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a major shift in temperatures not just for Florida but also for the rest of the southern and eastern United States. Previously, we were accustomed to seeing dark blue hues representing below-average temperatures in our region.

If you look at the graphic above, courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center, we’re now spattered with shades of dark REDS. That means we will rapidly climb to above-average temperatures as we venture into February.

Now I will say immediately, this does not mean we are done with the cold temperatures! We will receive more doses of polar and potentially Arctic air. We will see more cold fronts coming down into our Florida viewing area.

However, after such a historic event we’d witnessed last week, with snow and ice reaching as far south as Gainesville in northern Florida, the atmosphere needs a second to collect itself. It needs to recharge. With so much expended energy, things need to reset. Think of it like obliterating your body in a brutal workout in the gym.

After the gym, you’re sore, you’re tired, you’re hungry. Naturally, we can’t feed the atmosphere or let it go to sleep. But the same principles apply. With so much energy expended and exhausted, Mother Nature will take its time to flip the pattern upside down before we revisit cold temperatures again.

For the time being, we’ll have to enjoy these pleasant temperatures both overnight and during the warmest parts of the afternoon.

However, we’ll be watching very closely what’s ahead. When things get warm, and the pattern flips, we tend to see a lull between systems before things get chaotic again.

As warm air returns and surges northward, this will start to prime our atmosphere for another winter storm. This means more snow, more cold temperatures, and the potential for more severe thunderstorms when the time comes. We’re currently tracking two future systems and will let you know the latest once the data becomes a lot more clear and concise!