How cold will Florida feel? Will you get the 20s, 30s or 40s? What the forecast says

Florida’s weather is changing. Are you ready?

First comes the rain. Then comes the cold.

And we mean cold.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be in the 40s and 50s in South Florida. The region will feel a little whiplashed through the week as the changes come through the area.

The rain rolled in Tuesday evening, breaking up these gloriously sunny days we have been seeing. Forecasters say rain will continue through Wednesday.

“There will be some heavy downpours,” said Lissette Gonzalez, meteorologist with Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami.

An area of low pressure off the Gulf of Mexico will move through South Florida and bring the rain, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

“Heavy downpours and localized flooding will be possible,” the weather service posted on Twitter.

The rain will stick around Wednesday and into Thursday.

Then the temperatures will drop 20 or more degrees in Miami and Broward as the chill sets in.

So get your churros and hot chocolate ready. You’ll need the warmth because lows are forecast to plunge to the 40s Friday night and Saturday morning. And the highs on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may not even get out of the 60s.

“It’s going to feel like Christmas,” Gonzalez told viewers Tuesday morning..

If you think that’s cold, the rest of Florida will feel more like the North Pole (at least to us) than the tropics. We’re talking 20s in the northern part of the state and the 30s and 40s in Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area.

Here’s a look at what’s in the forecast:

South Florida

All is normal — for now. High temperatures in the afternoon will be about 80 and low overnight temperatures will hover around 70 through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain arrived Tuesday night and is forecast to stick through Wednesday night and into Thursday.

Then ...

“Here comes the arctic air and polar plunge, CBS Miami’s Gonzalez said.

Late Friday and into Saturday morning, the cold will arrive, with temperatures diving into the upper 40s. The high temperature on Saturday, Christmas Eve, will be around 60. The same pattern, lows in the 40s and a high of around 60, is also forecast for Saturday night and Christmas Day on Sunday.

Are frozen iguanas in the forecast? Possibly.

Southwest Florida and Tampa Bay

The Bradenton and Sarasota areas are bracing for lows in the 30s and 40s Friday night into the holiday weekend. Saturday won’t even get out of the mid-50s, forecasters say, with lows at night dipping into the upper 30s. The cold will linger Christmas Day, with high temperatures in the low 50s and nighttime temperatures in the low to mid-40s, according to the Bradenton Herald.

The Fort Myers area will be slightly warmer, with lows around 40 starting Friday night and into Saturday morning, and weekend highs in the mid-50s.

Heading to Marco Island or Naples for the holiday? You’ll be shivering Friday night with a low in the mid-40s. The highs on the weekend days will be in the mid- to upper 50s. Hit the beach if you’re brave.

Central Florida

Heading to the theme parks for Christmas? Be prepared to freeze your Mickey off. The land of Disney and Universal will feel more like New York starting Friday night, with a low of around 30, according to the National Weather Service. Frost is a possibility, according to local forecasters. And the high afternoon temperature will be 48. Saturday night, Christmas Eve, will dip into the the low 30s, and the Christmas Day high won’t quite reach 50.

North Florida

Tallahassee, are you even part of Florida?

The state capital city will feel the freeze starting Friday night with a low of 22 degrees. We’ll repeat that: 22 degrees.

The high afternoon temperature on Saturday will rise to 38 before going back down to 24 at night and early Sunday morning. The Christmas Day forecast calls for a high temperature of just above 40.

Florida Keys

Need to defrost? Head to the Keys.

Friday night’s low will be 63 and Saturday’s high will be 68. The overnight low on Christmas Eve will be near 60 and the afternoon high on Christmas will be near 70.

While it’s chillier than usual, people in the Keys can still do what people in the Keys usually do.