Iguanas fall from trees in Florida as cold snap hits
By
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor
Published Jan 30, 2022 11:13 AM EST
|
Updated Feb 1, 2022 5:02 AM EST
A recent cold snap in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, caused iguanas to freeze up and fall from trees on Jan. 30. Iguanas are cold-blooded reptiles that become immobile when temperatures are in the 40s.
A southward plunge of Arctic air reached all the way down to Florida on Sunday, sending temperatures in the Sunshine State tumbling to the lowest levels in years and setting at least one daily record low.
Temperatures weren't the only thing falling -- the state’s cold-blooded iguanas don’t handle such low temperatures well and become incapacitated when temperatures dip into the low 40s F.
The cold-snapped iguanas, immobilized while sleeping in trees, fall to the ground in a zombielike fashion. Once temperatures rise again in the morning, they spring back to life, but not before giving Floridians a fright.
Photo Gallery: Iguanas fall from trees during Florida cold snap
Drew Morris of Boca Raton, Florida told AccuWeather via Twitter, "Moved out from California recently and this wasn't on my Florida bingo card! Quite a surprise."
Morris also tweeted: "Earlier this week I posted about frozen iguanas falling from the sky here in Florida. That tweet was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. It is very real and I hereby apologize to all the frozen iguanas out there."
Todd Boger said on Twitter "39 degrees and falling iguanas are happening in Ft. Lauderdale. This one was over 3-feet long!"
A record low temperature for the date was set Sunday morning at Marathon, Florida. The reading of 46 degrees F bested the low of 49 degrees previously set on Jan. 30, 1955. Records for the date were also tied at Fort Pierce, with 32 and 30 at Vero Beach.
Temperatures fell to the freezing mark as far south as the Big Cypress National Preserve in southern Florida, west of the city of Miami, where the thermometer read 42 degrees at the Miami International Airport. Even Key West fell to 50 degrees.
AccuWeather forecasters warned earlier in the week that both crops and decades-old records could be in jeopardy due to this frigid blast. Freeze warnings were put in effect by the National Weather Service across the Florida Peninsula by the weekend.
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While Mother Nature has already handed the state multiple rounds of frosty air this season, this bitter blast was the coldest yet. The icy air dove southward behind a bomb cyclone walloping portions of the mid-Atlantic and New England into Saturday night.
Frost on a car in Fort Myers, Florida Jan. 31, 2022 (Trisha Gates)
In Florida, the cold could spell trouble to the agriculture sector. Prior to the weekend, AccuWeather forecasters warned the cold was a serious concern for citrus and berry crops in Florida and advised that frost and freeze mitigation measures be taken ahead of time to minimize or prevent damage and loss.
According to the Florida Department of Citrus, the majority of Florida’s oranges are grown in the southern two-thirds of the Florida Peninsula, where there is typically a low probability for a freeze.
The good news is that AccuWeather meteorologists say this bitter blast will be fleeting, with temperatures expected to rebound as quickly as early next week.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Winter Weather
Iguanas fall from trees in Florida as cold snap hits
By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor
Published Jan 30, 2022 11:13 AM EST | Updated Feb 1, 2022 5:02 AM EST
A recent cold snap in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, caused iguanas to freeze up and fall from trees on Jan. 30. Iguanas are cold-blooded reptiles that become immobile when temperatures are in the 40s.
A southward plunge of Arctic air reached all the way down to Florida on Sunday, sending temperatures in the Sunshine State tumbling to the lowest levels in years and setting at least one daily record low.
Temperatures weren't the only thing falling -- the state’s cold-blooded iguanas don’t handle such low temperatures well and become incapacitated when temperatures dip into the low 40s F.
The cold-snapped iguanas, immobilized while sleeping in trees, fall to the ground in a zombielike fashion. Once temperatures rise again in the morning, they spring back to life, but not before giving Floridians a fright.
Photo Gallery: Iguanas fall from trees during Florida cold snap
Drew Morris of Boca Raton, Florida told AccuWeather via Twitter, "Moved out from California recently and this wasn't on my Florida bingo card! Quite a surprise."
Morris also tweeted: "Earlier this week I posted about frozen iguanas falling from the sky here in Florida. That tweet was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. It is very real and I hereby apologize to all the frozen iguanas out there."
Todd Boger said on Twitter "39 degrees and falling iguanas are happening in Ft. Lauderdale. This one was over 3-feet long!"
A record low temperature for the date was set Sunday morning at Marathon, Florida. The reading of 46 degrees F bested the low of 49 degrees previously set on Jan. 30, 1955. Records for the date were also tied at Fort Pierce, with 32 and 30 at Vero Beach.
Temperatures fell to the freezing mark as far south as the Big Cypress National Preserve in southern Florida, west of the city of Miami, where the thermometer read 42 degrees at the Miami International Airport. Even Key West fell to 50 degrees.
AccuWeather forecasters warned earlier in the week that both crops and decades-old records could be in jeopardy due to this frigid blast. Freeze warnings were put in effect by the National Weather Service across the Florida Peninsula by the weekend.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
While Mother Nature has already handed the state multiple rounds of frosty air this season, this bitter blast was the coldest yet. The icy air dove southward behind a bomb cyclone walloping portions of the mid-Atlantic and New England into Saturday night.
Frost on a car in Fort Myers, Florida Jan. 31, 2022 (Trisha Gates)
In Florida, the cold could spell trouble to the agriculture sector. Prior to the weekend, AccuWeather forecasters warned the cold was a serious concern for citrus and berry crops in Florida and advised that frost and freeze mitigation measures be taken ahead of time to minimize or prevent damage and loss.
According to the Florida Department of Citrus, the majority of Florida’s oranges are grown in the southern two-thirds of the Florida Peninsula, where there is typically a low probability for a freeze.
The good news is that AccuWeather meteorologists say this bitter blast will be fleeting, with temperatures expected to rebound as quickly as early next week.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo