‘Things we don’t really see very often in South Florida.’ Expect coldest weather in more than a decade this weekend

The arctic blast forecast to invade South Florida this weekend could drop temperatures to the lowest point in more than 10 years.

“This could be the coldest temperatures that we have seen in the last 12 years, since at least to 2010,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Paxton Fell.

Freeze watches, frost advisories and wind chill advisories are possible.

The big chill is expected to occur Saturday night into Sunday morning, when temperatures could drop into the 30s.

“Freezing temperatures are possible this weekend across South Florida,” Fell said.

There’s a risk of frost and freezing across the inland sections of the Lake Okeechobee area. But even as far south as Miami-Dade County it’s recommended people take steps to protect plants and pets.

Sunday night into Monday morning will be cold again, but not as cold as overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning.

-Sunday’s wind chill values could range from the low- to mid20s across Lake Okeechobee to the upper 20s and low 30s across the east coast.

There’s a risk of extreme cold Sunday morning, which means the wind chill could be 25 degrees or colder. Frostbite and hypothermia are possible in such conditions with prolonged exposure.

“Those are things we don’t really see very often in South Florida,” Fell said.

Forecast models have been trending cooler so the wind chills could get warmer as it gets closer to the weekend, Fell said.

Still, freeze watches, frost advisories and wind chill advisories are possible for the weekend.

“This is a very strong cold front,” Fell said. “We haven’t seen these types of cold temperatures in over a decade.”