After a 12 day streak of temperatures above 80 degrees, it seems Mother Nature is making it a resolution to bring cooler weather back to Southwest Florida next year. And through a series of back to back to back cold fronts, temperatures will finally be trending cooler through the end of 2017 with a blast of arctic air in store for the first week of 2018!
We'll begin with a weak frontal boundary moving through Friday, when we'll finally break the streak and see temperatures come short of the 80 degree mark.
Highs on Friday will reach the upper 70s under mostly sunny skies. Daytime highs will remain near seasonal averages, in the mid 70s through the weekend with dry weather continuing. If you plan to be outside to ring in 2018, you might want a light jacket as temperatures are expected to be in the upper 50s to near 60 degrees at midnight.
But it gets cooler as a trough develops sending a strong cold front into Southwest Florida on the first day of 2018. Highs will reach the upper 60s to near 70 New Years Day with highs in the mid 60s expected Tuesday and Wednesday. Mornings will be chilly with lows in the low 50s. Before temperatures have any chance to warm up, another push of cold air will accompany a front on Wednesday, dropping morning lows into the 40s and 50s Thursday morning with highs struggling to get out of the 50s Thursday. Temperatures will remain below average through the first weekend of the new year and finally start to warm up for the second week of 2018.
The cold air won't be the only thing to keep in mind for next week. Rain chances will also be on the rise as an area of low pressure from the Gulf moves across the state. As a result, rain chances look to go up Monday through Wednesday with a slight chance of a few thunderstorms as well.
