ORLANDO, Fla. — After a record warm October and a warm start to November, the weather pattern is finally beginning to change.
- It was 3rd-latest "cooler season" start on record
- Fall fronts look to continue to move in
- We're seeing coolest temperatures since spring
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A ridge of high pressure that kept out the cooler and drier air for most of this fall is starting to leave Central Florida alone.
The current forecasts for mid-November keep these fronts coming in on a more regular basis, which should keep our temperatures around average or even cooler than average.
This most recent and strongest cold front of the fall season so far brought Central Florida its coolest temperatures since March and April.
Orlando finally dropped below 60 degrees for the first time since the morning of April 23, when the temperatures was 57 degrees.
On the morning of this November 13, the temperature at Orlando International Airport dipped to 56 degrees.
The start of “cooler season” in Central Florida is defined by the first drop of temperatures below 60 degrees.
The average first day for this is October 19. This year, it was November 13. This year ties with 1946 for the third-latest "cooler season" start on record. The second-latest is November 14 in 2015, and the latest holds at November 21 in 1986.
The record stretch of Orlando feeling 80-plus degrees finally came to an end behind this front, too.
Up until November 13, Orlando had hit an afternoon high temperature of 80-plus degrees for 205 consecutive days. This broke the old record of 201 consecutive 80-plus degree days set in 1922.
This fall will likely finish as the warmest fall on record for Orlando.
Through mid-November, the average temperature for the fall season is running at 80 degrees. This is about 2 degrees warmer than the fall of 1986, which is the warmest on record.
Now, we wait for the start of what is known as “colder season.” This is defined as the first time the temperature dips below 50 degrees. The average first date for this has already passed — it was November 5.
The earliest that temperatures have dropped into the 40s was on October 1, 1920. The latest was December 19, 2001. Last year, this happened on November 16.
This may not take as long to accomplish as the first temperature below 60 and 80 degrees were, but we shall see.
