[lilred0005]

Are the temps very different in the Winter between South Florida and North Florida/the Panhandle? Does it get much colder in the Northern parts of Florida? Does the North part see hard freezes or even snow?

[Nomadicus]

The panhandle and the north of FL gets hard freezes down in the low 20's and sometimes the teens. Not so much south of say Ocala. You can find lots of weather info on FL cities right here on City-Data at this link. Just click on a city on the map and pull it up.

FL Cities

For record highs and lows check weather dot com using a city's zip code.

[Momma_bear]

The average low in January is 59 in Fort Lauderdale and 40 in Tallahassee. That's a big difference in average lows. In addition Tallahassee has 5 months with average lows under 50 degrees, but Fort Lauderdale has only ONE month where the average low is below 60 degrees. The winters are milder in the south and MUCH shorter.

[BioAdoptMom3]

Yep, there is definitely a big difference sometimes. During warm spells it can be pretty warm all over the state (60's north to 80's extreme south), but when cold fronts pass through (usually once or twice a week) it can be 25 in Tallahassee, 35 here in Daytona and 60 in Miami. The line dividing the tropical from the sub-tropical climate is in Vero Beach, and there does seem to be a difference north and south of that area in the winter. We have had snow on the ground (I'm in Daytona Beach) but only about an inch at a time at most and its rare. The one time I remember most, it melted by 4 PM. Its more common to have flurries when we have snow, but that's only about every 3 to 5 years. Miami has even reported flurries, but I think only once or twice. We do have freezes in FL and obviously there are a lot more of them in the north and central than in the south. I really am not even sure if its that common to have any freezes in a given year in south FL (I am sure they have occurred, but I am sure its not very often). As a matter of fact, most of the citrus groves in FL are in the central FL area because we have enough frost to make the fruit sweet, but its rare to have a hard enough freeze to kill it (though that has happened too). In our area we probably average about 3 to 5 frosts/freezes in a given season. The lowest temp I ever remember having here was 17 degrees. For the most part here though its nice, with lows this time of year usually in the 40's or 50's and highs in the 60's and 70's.

Nancy

[Nomadicus]

Record low in January in Crestview, FL. Panhandle: 10°F (1977) I've only seen the teens south of Lakeland twice I think.

[southernnaturelover]

You won't see many people in Pensacola wearing shorts and sandals in February (unless they're crazy). It can seem mild for days and then BOOM, a cold front comes through and it's freezing. brrr

[bale002]

Generally speaking, on the Altantic coast at least, the sub-tropical climate, with only very rare winter freeze temperatures, ends around the latitude of Lake Okeechobee, therefore around Martin and St. Lucie Counties (Vero Beach has been mentioned above).

The dynamic on the west coast is a bit different and I believe that the semi-tropical climate extends up to the Tampa Bay area, perhaps a bit beyond.

Above those points, you gradually and increasingly have continental conditions, including freezing temperatures in the winter, as variously described in some above posts.

Best is to study the climate charts, available through city-data, as mentioned, to gain an understanding of the extent and depth of winter temperatures along the length (and breadth) of Florida.

[lilred0005]

Thanks for the replies and links, I will check it out. I'm a South Florida native and I really don't like it down here, part of that is because I hate the weather. I will hopefully be moving soon but due to extenuating circumstances, it may be better for me to stay in state. If so, I would want to live in an area that is cooler and has some seasonal change. Also, I'd like an area with different topography, I'm so tired of everything being so flat and boring, there's no change here just flat and flatter and hot and a little less hot.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

Thanks for the replies and links, I will check it out. I'm a South Florida native and I really don't like it down here, part of that is because I hate the weather. I will hopefully be moving soon but due to extenuating circumstances, it may be better for me to stay in state. If so, I would want to live in an area that is cooler and has some seasonal change. Also, I'd like an area with different topography, I'm so tired of everything being so flat and boring, there's no change here just flat and flatter and hot and a little less hot.

Florida indeed has some advantages, especially if you own your own small business (no state income tax), own a home (homestead protections), have a retirement account (retirement account protections), and have to send kids through college (a pretty decent prepaid tuition program, also protected), among other things.

I suppose the worst thing about Florida is homeowner's insurance. But you may alleviate that too if you go up north.

Sounds like you want the Tallahassee area, and in any case towards the Georgia border, there are some good threads on it, do a forum search.

All the best!

[Strel]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

Are the temps very different in the Winter between South Florida and North Florida/the Panhandle? Does it get much colder in the Northern parts of Florida? Does the North part see hard freezes or even snow?

Huge.

It occasionally snows in Tallahassee.