The map of Florida shows cities at risk of cold snaps

A powerful polar cold front will sweep across Florida, bringing freezing temperatures to the Sunshine State.

The first freeze of the season will likely occur overnight Sunday as temperatures across the I-10 corridor will fall near and below freezing, according to forecasters.

Northern Florida is expected to be hardest hit by the weather system, with temperatures expected to drop below 32 degrees in cities like Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Lake City, among others.

According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, temperatures will be lowest in Marianna, Jackson County, where it will feel like 24 degrees Monday morning.

Meanwhile, it will feel like 25 degrees in Panama City, while it will drop to 27 to 30 degrees in Crestview, Perry, Tallahassee, Lake City, Apalachicola and Graceville, as well as Jacksonville, Pensacola and Horseshoe Beach.

Given the cold temperatures, a freeze warning is expected to be in effect for several locations along the I-10 corridor overnight Sunday and into Monday morning.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), freeze warnings are issued when temperatures will be below 32 degrees for several hours over the next 24 hours. If there is a frost warning, you should bring all plants indoors and take all necessary measures to prevent the pipes from freezing.

According to Orlando television station WKMG, temperatures are expected to return to normal early December levels of the mid to upper 70s by the end of the first week of December.

The NWS Climate Prediction Center has warned of a possible “hard freeze” across the Southeast, including northern parts of Florida. The center said this will likely happen early next week. “Please protect sensitive vegetation, and if you travel south, bring your jackets!” said the center on X, formerly Twitter.

A freeze warning is issued when the temperature is expected to be below 28 degrees for at least three hours. These occur approximately every 10 years in rural inland areas of South Florida and less frequently in metropolitan areas near the coast.

According to meteorologist Jeff Berardelli of television station WFLA in Tampa, temperatures were in the 30s in parts of Florida this past weekend, even as far away as Lake Okeechobee. Frost may occur at temperatures between 33 and 36 degrees, according to the NWS.

“It is evidence of the influence of dry air, clear skies and light winds. Radiation cooling,” Berardelli said on X.

Meanwhile, winter warnings are in effect across the country for several western states as snow is forecast for California.

“The cold snap will feel like January, delivering a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have become accustomed to warm conditions for much of the fall,” said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather’s senior long-range meteorologist.

Florida-based meteorologist Ryan Maue said in a post