Florida to start off the new year with the coldest air so far this season

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With only some brief brushes with Jack Frost so far this season, a more prolonged chill is set to start off 2018 across much of Florida.

"While cold air has easily made its way into the northern half of the United States in December, there have not been many opportunities for cold air to reach into the Deep South," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey.

However, during the first week of January, the jet stream will dive down through parts of the Deep South. By midweek, this will open the gates for cold air to reach southward across much of the Sunshine State.

"This will allow for the next push of cold air to travel farther south than previous outbreaks," added Duffey.

Throughout the week, the cold will dip farther and farther south. The Florida Panhandle will see the drastic temperature change first, with central and southern parts of the state experiencing the temperature change on Wednesday.

Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida, are likely to experience the coldest air, as is typical most months of the year; however, temperatures will be as much as 15 to 20 degrees F below normal for the first week of January.

Highs through much of the week for both cities will be in the middle 40s, with low temperatures overnight dipping down into the middle to upper 20s into Friday.

Cold air will also reach Tampa, Florida. High temperatures will be in the middle 50s F, a far cry from 70 degrees, which is the average high for the city in early January. Overnight lows will be even lower, with the mercury in Tampa dipping down into the 30s by late-week.

This could mean frost as far south as central Florida by Friday, with the likelihood of cold weather continuing into the weekend.

With the jet stream in South Florida, a storm is forecast to spin up over the nearby Atlantic Ocean at midweek. This will help to moderate temperatures for southern parts of the state until then.

As the storm pulls away and strengthens just east of New England, winds will kick up and cold air will be funneled into South Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba late this week.

The combination of cold and windy conditions across much of the Florida Peninsula will bring AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures down below freezing for many.

The other concern for this typically warm part of the country is agriculture.

"Most citrus crops can handle temperatures ranging from the lower 30s to the upper 20s for up to a few hours with few problems," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "In some cases, cold weather like this can sweeten the crop a bit."

Major damage to the citrus crop occurred during Irma in September.

Only if temperatures drop to levels lower than expected will there be the risk of serious damage from a freeze.

"However, there is concern for less-cold tolerant crops, such as strawberries," Sosnowski said. "Agricultural interests will need to initiate preventative measures such as spraying water on their crops to minimize the damage."

In addition to the risk of a damaging freeze in Florida, freezing air is also forecast for sensitive crops in South Texas. Nighttime temperatures are projected to dip into the middle 20s and may be a problem for grapefruit and sugar cane crops and others through the end of the week.

More shots of cold are possible during January, which may again pose a risk for crops in the Deep South. Stick with AccuWeather for more coverage of persistent cold throughout the remainder of the 2017-2018 winter season.