JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s a few days early to start feeling like winter, but Thursday morning at the Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) the observed low was 49 degrees just before 7 a.m. which makes it the coldest morning since April 23. The average first date for lows in the 40s is Oct. 21.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its U.S. Winter Outlook on Thursday and it predicts the warm and dry trend will continue for Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.
While drought relief is likely in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions due to La Nina, our region will be “drier-than-average”, according to the report. This outlook is for December 2024 through February 2025.
Drought is likely to develop or worsen across portions of the Southwest and Gulf Coast.
The report said the greatest likelihood for drier-than-average conditions is in states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in Texas and southern New Mexico.
Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored from the southern tier of the U.S. to the eastern Great Lakes, eastern seaboard, New England and northern Alaska. These probabilities are strongest along the Gulf Coast and for most of Texas.
The average daily high temperature at Jacksonville International Airport from Nov. 30 until the end of February is just below 70 degrees.
The coldest day in recorded history at JIA was 7 degrees on Jan. 21, 1985. While the warmest winter day in history was 88 degrees on February 24, 2023.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center updates the three-month outlook monthly. The next update will be available on Nov. 21.