Another strong front comes roaring through on Wednesday afternoon overnight into Thursday bringing more January/February cold weather. The surf comes up on Wednesday evening and first thing Thursday morning. Our dew points and humidity are extremely low today (51% in East Lake).
This cold front could bring our temperatures down near freezing on Thursday morning before dawn. Is this cold blast going to be enough to drop the water temperatures into the upper 40’s? It’s not uncommon to see the water fall into the 40s in February. After high pressure and cold air moved in during the last cold front I watched the water temperature drop from 59°F to 53° at the Clearwater Beach weather station. That’s six degrees almost overnight. Currently the water is at a chilly 54 degrees. If we see another 6 degree drop we’ll be looking at icy 48 degree water. Get out your 4 mil wetsuits, ’cause it’s cold!
Last winter the water barely cracked 70 degrees, with only one cold front bringing the water to 65°F. That was extremely unusual. It was a very strong el nino winter pattern where right up until the end of December it felt almost like summer. This winter it’s a, quote un quote, la nina pattern. Really it’s just the regular winter pattern. This winter there’s been a steady falling trend in the water temperature from early Fall through Winter. We’re now in the middle of January with water in the mid 50s. The chart below will show you how the water temperatures have steadily fluctuated on a cooling trend up to today.
In Florida every day is a beautiful day it seems. Years ago one of the local newspapers would give out free newspapers on days that weren’t bright and sunny days. Living in such a beautiful place, I need some cold gnarly weather to break up the monotony of everyday perfection and warmth, which is why this colder time of year is my absolute favorite time of year.
