ORLANDO, Fla. – Happy New Year to everyone in Central Florida and around the world! With 2026 now upon us, we’re already seeing significant changes on the horizon.

Whether you celebrated the iconic Times Square ball drop from your living room or joined festivities locally, you likely noticed that temperatures dipped close to freezing overnight, with some areas still experiencing the chill as the day begins.

Freeze warnings remain in effect for Alachua, Marion, and Sumter counties until 8 a.m. Meanwhile, other regions are under a frost advisory until 9 a.m., alerting residents to the cold spell.

Despite this brisk start to January 1, 2026, the afternoon promises a more comfortable climate, with temperatures expected to climb to the mid-60s. It’s a lovely way to kick off the new year!

The weather improves further on Friday, with overnight temperatures likely staying above freezing. Some areas might even enjoy a warm afternoon, with highs reaching up to 70 degrees. Here’s to a promising start to the year!

Into the weekend, there are a couple of variables we’ll be monitoring that could influence how things play out Friday through Sunday.

Not only will we consistently warmup between now and then, but a few of us could receive some beneficial rain Friday and especially Saturday night.

As a subtropical ridge begins to rebuild over the heart of the lower 48, some of that jet stream energy will slip beneath the trough that’s reached down across us now providing us with these frigid temperatures.

Late Friday night into very early Saturday morning, an area of low pressure could spin up over areas of Mississippi and Alabama moving generally eastward.

As it moves toward the Atlantic coast, some of that subtropical moisture it attracts could be push down through us upping the chance a few of us get some rain after sunset on Saturday and the first few hours of Sunday.

Then, we’re back to dry conditions and some big time, above average temperatures toward the first full week of January. This time next week in fact, we could see a return of low 80 degree afternoon highs as the ridge really dominates our weather pattern once again.