9 Things Floridians Say About Cold Weather That Make Northerners Laugh
Up north, 50 degrees is jacket weather. In Florida, it can make the evening news.
Floridians have a whole set of lines for those chilly mornings, and Northerners can’t help but laugh.
Here’s what Floridians say about cold weather, and why Northerners find it so funny.
1. Falling Iguanas
In January 2020, the National Weather Service’s Miami office told South Florida not to be surprised if iguanas fell from the trees that night.
The iguanas weren’t dead.
They’re just cold.
The warning came back in November 2025, when CBS12 reported iguanas falling from trees across Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) advised residents not to touch them.
The reptiles are cold-blooded, so a sharp drop in temperature leaves them temporarily paralyzed.
If a stunned iguana lands on your driveway, leave it alone, since touching or moving it could cause stress or injury.
Iguanas move off once they regain mobility.
Many Northerners laugh at a forecast that mentions iguanas.
2. Cold Front
WSVN, a Miami TV station, ran the headline “Cold front brings temperatures in the 40s and 50s to South Florida” in December 2019.
Fox 35 in Orlando ran a similar headline in November 2020, forecasting temperatures in the 40s and 50s for Central Florida.
On Miami Beach, the clock tower on Lincoln Road showed temperatures in the mid-50s.
By noon, temperatures were in the low to mid 60s.
The chill didn’t last.
On Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, you could see sweaters and scarves next to shorts and T-shirts.
Restaurants on South Beach’s Ocean Drive brought out heaters.
The National Weather Service’s Miami office told followers to get their jackets out.
Many Northerners hear “cold front” and picture something much colder than that.
Not every cold front stays that mild.
That sub-zero Tallahassee reading came during the February 1899 Arctic outbreak.
The same outbreak brought measurable snow as far south as the Tampa area.
3. Bundle Up
CBS Miami’s cold-weather forecast in November 2018 carried the headline “Get Ready To Bundle Up As Temperatures Set To Tumble.”
Its Wednesday high of 66 degrees ran 10 to 15 degrees below normal, with overnight lows in the upper 40s inland and the low 50s along the coast.
It told you to get ready and bundle up, and it used the phrase “sweater weather.”
The chill was forecast to last through Thursday, with warmer weather back by Friday.
Then it was over.
Many Northerners would save the word “bundle” for much colder days.
4. Back Into the Fridge
“Back Into the Fridge” was the title of WSVN’s weather blog forecast, which described a sudden shift to colder weather after a couple of warm weeks.
A strong cold front crossed South Florida.
Wind chills in the 20s and 30s were forecast across Miami-Dade and Broward counties through Tuesday, with western areas feeling like the upper 20s.
A Cold Weather Advisory had been issued.
Wind chill is how cold the air feels on your skin.
That’s why a forecast number can sit well below the one on your thermometer.
Coats came back out.
5. Cold Weather Advisory
If you were in Miami-Dade or Broward on January 15, 2026, you were under a Cold Weather Advisory.
It ran until 9 a.m. on Friday, January 16, with wind chills forecast at 35 degrees or lower.
By 11 p.m. Thursday, many areas had fallen to the lower 50s.
The National Weather Service issues that advisory for dangerously cold conditions that aren’t expected to reach warning criteria.
Many Midwesterners laugh anyway.
6. Coldest in 15 Years
NBC 6 warned days ahead that the cold front could bring the coldest temperatures South Florida had seen in more than 15 years.
Its forecast low for Miami was 36 degrees, which would have tied the record from 1909.
Miami’s record cold on Sunday, February 1, 2026, came in at 35 degrees.
Miami beat that forecast.
If you were in Fort Lauderdale the next day, you saw 37 degrees, which broke the record of 38 degrees from 1979.
7. Freeze Warning
A freeze warning is the National Weather Service’s alert for when forecasters expect temperatures to fall below 32 degrees for a long enough stretch to damage plants.
Temperatures below 28 degrees for an extended time can kill many types of commercial crops and residential plants.
WSVN’s January 31, 2026, weather blog said a freeze warning was in effect west of Krome Avenue, U.S. 27 and the Sawgrass Expressway.
Widespread lows in the low to mid 30s and wind chills in the low to mid 20s were forecast.
A Cold Weather Advisory covered all of Miami-Dade and Broward.
If you grow tomatoes or citrus in your yard, a freeze warning is the alert to watch for.
Cold Weather Alerts for Plants
Plants can face a frost advisory before the temperature reaches freezing.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issues a frost advisory for forecast lows between 32 and 36 degrees on calm nights when humidity nears 100 percent.
A freeze watch or warning goes out when temperatures are 32 or lower for at least two hours.
A hard freeze is defined as 25 degrees.
That definition varies from office to office.
8. Cold-Stunned
Cold-stunned is the word FWC uses for a sea turtle that has been chilled so badly it can barely move.
The University of Florida’s extension office in Hernando County links the condition to water at around 50 degrees or below, especially when temperatures fall fast.
A stunned turtle can float near the surface or wash ashore in shallow water.
It can look lifeless.
If you find a cold-stunned or stranded sea turtle, call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-3922.
After an unusually long cold spell in January 2010, staff and volunteers collected stunned turtles, warmed them in salt water and released them in warmer water.
Psst! How much do you know about record lows, snow and cold alerts? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Cold Snap IQ
Answer eight questions on record lows, snow and winter alerts. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
In what year did snow first fall in South Florida in recorded history?
9. Snow Day
Snow days reached North Florida in January 2025, when Pensacola got a record 8.9 inches of snow over two days, including January 21.
If you live in Pensacola, that total set a new two-day snowfall record for your city.
The previous record of 3.0 inches dated to a February 1895 snowstorm.
It lasted nearly 130 years.
Escambia County Public Schools made Monday, February 17, 2025, a full school day to make up for the snow days.
Twenty counties closed schools on Thursday.
Nine counties canceled Friday classes, along with Florida State University, Florida A&M University and the University of West Florida.
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