Goodbye Hurricane Season, Hello Winter Weather

Daytona Beach, FL – Floridians say good riddance to another Atlantic Hurricane Season as the state is greeted by a timely cold snap that brought low temperatures across Florida, with some areas plummeting into the 30’s Tuesday morning (December 1st). Throughout the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which "officially" ended on Monday (November 30th), residents saw the formation of 31 depressions, 30 storms—13 of which hit hurricane status, with six earning "major hurricane" status of Category 3 or above. In total, over 400 perished during the season as storms caused an estimated $41 billion in damage, making it the seventh costliest season in the books. The record books will show that the 2020 season was additionally the most active Atlantic season, beating out the 2005 season that saw 28 storms form between June 1st and January 6th—as the season saw the formation of two systems that were active beyond the usual end of the season, November 30th. In a similar fashion to the 2005 season, 2020’s season also saw the use of the Greek alphabet naming system, which is only employed after forecasters run out of predetermined names. 2005 saw the use of six Greek names, ending on Zeta, while 2020 saw the use of nine Greek names, ending on Iota. The First Cold Snap Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, temperatures around the state began to plummet as a well timed cold front moved its way southward, bringing some parts of Florida down into the mid and lower-30’s—serving as an almost perfect transition into the holiday season as many set their sights on December’s festivities. Forecasts from the National Weather Service in Melbourne (NWS) show the Daytona Beach area can expect lows in the mid to low-30’s between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. More inland areas, such as DeLand and Deltona can expect lower temps closer to 33 degrees Tuesday night into Wednesday. This trend is expected to continue throughout much of the week as highs are not expected to surpass the mid-70s with lows hovering around 40 and 60 degrees. Alongside these temperatures, residents can also expect mostly sunny and partly cloudy conditions with winds around 5 to 10 mph through most of the week, with a chance of higher gusts. However, it seems the sunny conditions could be interrupted on Friday as precipitation chances begin to rise before peaking on Saturday at 40 percent. Nevertheless, the week is shaping up to be a cold and breezy affair, ushering in a cool start to December.