The official overnight low -- early this morning -- in Jacksonville (at JIA) was only 42. Just a little bit of wind kept temps. from dropping further. Winds were lighter well inland & temps.
dropped into the low 30s with some areas experiencing a light freeze from Blackshear to Nahunta, Waycross, Homerville, Fargo, Lake City & Ft. White. I received an irate email from a viewer in Ft. White where the temp. dropped to 29 -- she was worried about her plants. I'm guessing the freeze was not long-lasting.
Temps. tonight will be similar...maybe a few degrees higher in the areas that were coldest Wed. night.
The Climate Prediction Center issued an update on the La Nina today. Forecasts are for the cooling of the equatorial Pacific to continue into early '08 with at least a moderate -- & possibly strong -- La Nina. Check out the map below of sea surface temps. from NOAA:
The blue area along & near the equator in the Pacific is the cool water -- a classic case of La Nina conditions (coolest temps. are 2 degrees C below avg.=about 4 degrees F). As I've posted on several occasions, a La Nina does not bode well for the First Coast (& much of the S.E. U.S.) as such conditions usually lead to dry weather from winter through early spring which could translate into a rough fire season. Click here for a pdf file with full details. ... or here for a html version.
An interesting story in last week's USA Today regarding the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans & how nature -- shrubs, bushes, grass, trees & weeds are overtaking areas/neighborhoods that remain vacant... "Lower Ninth Ward Reclaimed by nature: New Orleans caught in a stranglehold of vegetation".
