Expect a breath of cool air

Temperatures have sizzled at or near record levels, but this weekend they'll likely drop.

By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 29, 2002

The record high temperatures of the past few days are about to give way to cooler weather, and possibly some rain on Halloween.

Temperatures this weekend could dip into the low 50s in the Tampa Bay area and the low 40s in Hernando and Citrus counties.

"It's looking a lot cooler," said Paul Close, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

That's welcome news in Florida, where temperatures have tied or neared record highs in several locations. Miami and Lakeland each tied records on Saturday with highs of 89. Fort Myers tied a record Sunday with 90, as did Orlando with a high of 89. Temperatures around the bay have been within a degree or two of records.

The culprit has been a high-pressure system over Florida. That should change on Halloween, when the first of two northern cold fronts move into west-central Florida.

The second front is expected sometime Friday, and that should drop the temperatures considerably.

"Right now it looks like 10 degrees below normal," Close said. "Low 70s during the day, low 50s at night, and in communities a little north of here, like Brooksville, lows could drop into the 40s."

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