ORLANDO, Fla. – As of Wednesday morning, the area is experiencing a blast of the coldest air yet in this weather pattern.

Temperatures have plummeted to freezing levels, with the wind making it feel even chillier.

The afternoon won’t offer much respite, as a polar high-pressure system continues to usher in these icy conditions.

Combining the low temperatures with winds sweeping in from behind the front, authorities have issued a widespread cold weather advisory and specific freeze warnings in select areas.

Freeze warnings are in place for Alachua, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Volusia, and Flagler counties until around 9 a.m. While the morning sun will help temperatures rise above freezing, they won’t climb significantly throughout the day.

That’s because, the same high pressure mentioned above is also helping to keep our that funnel of cold air moving fairly quick. They’ve dropped since the initial push of this cold air, but the gusts we’re seeing Wednesday, especially along the east coast will keep temperatures feeling a lot more brutal than your thermometer may elude to.

Combine all this with a loss of nearly all our classic Florida moisture. The cold front was strong enough we’ve essentially flushed the atmosphere of all leftover subtropical moisture and humidity we felt through the Christmas holiday and shortly thereafter.

With that being said, be leery of the way you set your New Year’s fireworks off Wednesday night. Fire is the keyword. Such low moisture and rocking northerly winds are the perfect recipe for even the slightest bit of a spark to set things ablaze.

But, nevertheless, embrace this resurrection of winter and enjoy the finale of 2025! It will be cold this evening, but feels like temps will nudge upward slightly as winds relax some after sunset.

We can expect mid to upper 40s a few hours after the sun goes down, with the upper 30s visiting once again as we approach the final countdown to the ball drop.

If you can move some of your evening plans indoors, it might be to your best interest. Across Central Florida as we hit midnight, many of us will be right back into those near freezing feels like temps.

Layers will be your best friend. I would actually advise, take advantage! I for one can openly admit, I like the colder weather for the sake of accessorizing and showing off some of my best fall or winter outfits. We don’t get that chance here in the Sunshine State often, so dust off your best wintry look and take all the selfies.

Toward the first weekend of 2026, we do see some relief from these cold temps. Warmth will start to return by Friday, and then there’s even a slight shot for some very isolated drops of rain as we move through Saturday and early Sunday.

Unfortunately, I would say around 80-90% of us won’t receive even a whisper of that rainfall. Computer models suggest the weak frontal boundary will lose its punch as it swings through our state, dissipating the rain as it does.

January could bring with it more below average rain chances and a surge in our fire risks across Central Florida all thanks to our La Nina winter pattern keeping a bulk of the much-needed moisture well to our north.

We’ll have to fight tooth and nail more or less to bring some of it down here.