A blast of the season’s first frigid air was bearing down on much of the U.S. on Monday, bringing the prospect of snow to parts of the country, and plunging temperatures in Florida — though it is unclear whether it will get cold enough for iguanas to tumble from the treetops.
National Weather Service forecasters said frigid Arctic air will pour into the eastern two-thirds of the country, bringing with it the chance for record low temperatures in the U.S. Southeast, including all of Florida, where temperatures in parts of the state were near 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) just a day ago.
The cold air will reach the Great Plains on Monday, bringing gusty wind and red flag warnings in the region, according to forecasters, and the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountain regions would see 4 inches (10 centimeters) to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow.
Around Lake Erie forecasters are warning about the prospect of lake-effect snow, which occurs in relatively narrow bands that dump copious amounts of snow. It’s a phenomenon that can drastically increase snowfall totals that could hit one area but miss another not far away untouched.
Cold weather warnings were issued for Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, with freezing temperatures predicted through Monday morning for a large swath of other parts of the South, from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia, where many local governments have opened heated shelters.
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In Florida forecasters say the wind chill will be in the 30s Fahrenheit (minus 1 degree Celsius). During previous cold periods, iguanas, an invasive reptile species, have gone into a sort of suspended animation and fallen to the ground when the temperatures dip below 40 degrees F (about 4 degrees C). They usually wake up with the sun’s warmth.
In Tennessee, temperatures dropped to 30 degrees F (minus 1 degrees C) into Sunday morning, and areas with higher elevation in the eastern part of the state reported that 3 inches of new snow had fallen by 9 a.m., causing some counties to close schools for the day. Snow-slickened roads led to a crash involving multiple vehicles and about an hourlong shutdown of a westbound section of Interstate 40 in Putnam County, some 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Nashville, according to a social media post by the county sheriff’s office.
Further north, as temperatures dropped across the nation’s midsection, meteorologists warned of hazardous travel conditions through winter weather advisories for Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. Snow fell Sunday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where meteorologists warned of low visibility with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow by Monday.
In Indiana, weather experts predicted up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) of snow and “slippery surfaces” for road travel. Up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow were predicted in parts of Wisconsin.
“Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills hovering near zero were expected in portions of Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Some areas got measurable fluff a day earlier, including 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow in southwest Minnesota and more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) in slices of northern Iowa.
Weather experts issued special guidance for gardeners, saying the freeze warning means the growing season has ended.
“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” warned meteorologists in Arkansas.
Growers of peppers, eggplants, squash and leafy greens in north Florida on Monday were harvesting as much as they could and preparing irrigation lines just in case they were needed for spraying crops to help them retain warmth.
South Florida, where most of Florida’s winter fruits and vegetables are grown, was expected to be spared any freeze based on the current forecast. Citrus, Florida’s best-known crop, also was expected to avert a hit since citrus trees typically sustain damage only when the thermometer drops below 28 degrees F (minus 2.2 degrees C).
“The freezing temperatures are likely to miss our major growing regions for fruits and vegetables,” said Christina Morton, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association.
As long as the temperature stays above freezing, some Florida crops such as strawberries grown in the Tampa area could benefit since the cool weather enhances sweetness and quality, Morton said.
“These colder temperatures are good for the needed chill hours to boost production,” she said.
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Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama. Schneider reported from Orlando, Florida.
