Moondogs and 43

The first thing I noticed was that burrowing under a comforter, sheet, and a blanket didn't quite do the deal.  For South Florida, this is winter, this is cold.

Reaching for the phone, I waited for it to power up and I saw a red triangle with an exclamation point in it.  Normally that's for Rip Tides, and they're common.  Nobody is really out in the water at 5:30AM but the word does need to get out.

I checked it.  After living here since 2006, it was jarring to see the words "Freeze Warning".   My second thought was I wonder if it will rain Iguanas today?   Under 45 for any length of time and their cold blooded muscles lose grip and they fall from trees.  I'll keep an eye out for that later...

The Non-Urban areas of South Florida, also known as the Everglades, are under a Freeze Warning.   Warmer at the ocean and the heat island of the cities of our sprawl.   It's also warmer on the carport.  My phone said 43, my carport said 47.

Scant comfort.

I got Rack ready for our walk and stepped outside.  Two things that are strange to notice here.   Staring through the Palm Trees on our neighbor's yard to the one side, the moon had a halo around it.  This is a Moondog, and made for a pretty little distraction.   It was a solid hour before sunrise anyway.  The other thing was I had to look through the steam of my own breath to see it.

Ooo weird!  Whoadude!

So we're in for the cold.  At least we're in for what passes for cold.  When you're not used to it...  just shave another 15F off of your cold tolerance.   May have been 43, but I was dressed for 20.   Even Rack's morning enthusiasm was dampened.

When I got in, I checked the full text of the notice.  Meh, for me there's no impact.  I will just leave my sweatshirt on and hope that the winds stay down for the day.  If it doesn't, that will suck all the heat that my weak little heater will put back into the house.

Freeze Warning remains in effect until 8 am EST this morning.

• Temperature: The latest observations indicate that a few spots have dropped to and just below the freezing mark as of 7 am this morning, mainly across Glades County. A few of the typically cooler spots across Hendry and Collier County have also reach the freezing Mark through the early morning hours. Elsewhere, overnight lows have ranged from the mid 30s across the interior areas of Palm Beach and Broward to the Lower 40s across the interior areas of Miami-dade.
• Impacts: below freezing temperatures may cause damage to agricultural concerns.

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A Freeze Warning means temperatures of 32 degrees or lower are imminent or highly likely, for any duration of time. These conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation.

Oh well, basically it means that for the next 10 days, the A/C is left off since the highs will be in the low to mid 70s.  Tough work if you can get it, right?

So, Snowbirds, stay home.  You'll force a beach day and wear shorts and flipflops ... and we will all laugh.

Hmmm... then again, we all could use a good laugh!