Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
...Cold Start this Morning Across the State...Temperatures Gradually Warming Up...Plenty of Sunshine Today...Very Dry Conditions Continue to Create Elevated to Locally Critical Wildfire Conditions Statewide...Lighter Winds to Preclude Red Flag Conditions...Calm and Clear Skies Tonight With Cool Temperatures...Patchy to Widespread Frost Possible For Most of Interior Northeast Florida and the Peninsula - Frost Advisories...Coldest Temperatures Behind Us, But Still Chilly...High Risk for Rip Currents Across the Peninsula; Moderate Risk Along the Panhandle...
Updated at 8:47 AM EST
Today's Threats:
|
No Threat |
Low Threat |
Medium Threat |
High Threat |
|
Lightning |
Tornado |
Damaging Wind/Hail |
Wildfire |
Freeze (Overnight) |
Flash Flooding |
Wind Chill (Overnight) |
Rip Currents |
|
|
|
Iso. Big Bend & Peninsula Statewide |
Locally Interior Northeast & Central FL |
Interior Northeast & Central FL
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Peninsula Panhandle Northeast FL |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
Freeze Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories across the state will expire mid-morning as temperatures gradually warm up following last night’s cold and freeze. High pressure will continue to bring a near-zero chance of rain across the state throughout the day, and also keep very dry air in place. Relative humidity values nearly statewide will remain near or below critical thresholds (20-35%) later this morning and throughout the day as dry air settles in. Luckily, winds have eased up from the last two days which will prevent Red Flag Conditions today; however, lingering wind gusts of 10-15 mph can still be expected this morning and through the early afternoon hours across South Florida. Elevated wildfire conditions will persist statewide, with locally critical wildfire conditions possible with the expanding extreme drought conditions. High temperatures will reach the middle 50s to middle 60s across the state this afternoon, leading to a pleasant day filled with sunshine.
Cool and calm conditions can be expected to return across the state overnight, with winds calming down even further. Clear skies and moisture beginning to slowly return to the state will allow for patchy to widespread frost to develop for portions of interior Northeast Florida and the interior Peninsula late overnight and into Wednesday morning. Frost Advisories will go into effect late tonight for these areas. The coldest temperatures have already occurred during this cool down, so temperatures tonight will be a few degrees warmer. Low temperatures tonight will remain in the 30s to middle 40s for most of the state, with Southeast Florida keeping to the upper 40s to lower 50s.
Rip Currents: Northerly to northwesterly winds and lingering ocean swells will allow the moderate to high risk for rip currents. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Wave heights will slowly decline along the East Coast keeping near 3-5’ through the afternoon. Locally elevated surf of 6’ will be possible within the surf zones along Southeast Florida beaches. Panhandle and Gulf Coast beaches will see wave heights return to 1-2’.
Red Tide was observed at background concentrations offshore Monroe and Miami-Dade County, with very low concentrations collected along Bay County. (valid 2/13/2026).
Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding today.
Fire Weather: Cold conditions can be expected this morning, but temperatures will gradually warm up throughout the day. Very dry air remains settled within the state leading to relative humidity values falling near and below critical thresholds (20-35%) late this morning and throughout the afternoon. Winds have eased up and will not be as gusty as they were on Sunday and Monday; however, wind gusts of 10-15 mph will linger through the early afternoon hours across South Florida. Elevated wildfire conditions can be expected statewide, with locally critical wildfire conditions possible due to the extreme drought conditions and very dry soil moisture. Areas of patchy to widespread frost will develop across Northeast Florida and most of the interior Peninsula early Wednesday morning. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 83 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 3,688 acres.
Drought (2/19/26): Yet another potent cold front passed through the state this past Sunday (2/15) bringing scattered showers and embedded thunderstorms to much of North and Central Florida. Rainfall totals, however, were simply not enough to alleviate much of the drought and further drought expansion or degradation was seen in this week’s latest Drought Monitor outlook. The heaviest rainfall from this cold front was found across the Panhandle and Big Bend, with widespread totals between 0.5-1.5” and localized amounts upwards of 3”. Still, much of the Panhandle and Big Bend remain between 2-4” below normal in rainfall over the past 30 days. As such, expansion of the extreme (level 3 of 4) drought into the remainder of Flagler County and northern Volusia County along the East Coast, as well as all the Big Bend and eastern Panhandle down to the coastline, was made in this week’s outlook. A moderate (level 1 of 4) to severe (level 2 of 4) drought is still in place and unchanged across the western Panhandle. Throughout Central Florida, rainfall totals ranged from 1-2” across the Nature Coast to nearly no appreciable rainfall down to Lake Okeechobee. Very little chances were found along the I-4 corridor where a moderate (level 1 of 4) drought remains. Additional expansion, however, of the extreme (level 3 of 4) drought was made across South-Central Florida in Highlands, Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. Long-term rainfall departures (90 days) are between 2-4” for much of Central Florida, with East-Central Florida up to 7” in some locations. Nearly no appreciable rain fell over the past week across South Florida where extreme (level 3 of 4) drought has expanded across all interior Glades, Hendry, Collier, Monroe, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties. Coastal Southeast Florida remains under a moderate (level 1 of 4) to severe (level 2 of 4) drought. Over the next week, very little rainfall is expected with only a few scattered showers across North Florida. Rainfall totals will likely remain below 0.5” with continued drought deterioration.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 490 (+1) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 33 Florida counties that have an average KBDI above 500 (drought/increased fire danger).
Flash Flooding: There is no risk for flash flooding today.
Riverine Flooding: There are no riverine concerns across Florida. For more information, visit the River Forecast Center.
Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 12.33 feet, which is within the operational band and is 2.22 feet below normal for this time of year.
