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When Will It Feel Like Fall In South Florida?

Graphic by Kenny Malone. Beach and pumpkin images from Flickr users Jorge Brazil and Kam Abbot (respectively) per CC license.
The National Weather Service says that feels-like-fall weather is typically delayed by 4-6 weeks in South Florida.

Wednesday may technically be the first day of fall, but it certainly doesn't feel any different.

In South Florida, according to the National Weather Service, "fall-like weather is usually delayed by about 4-6 weeks from the start of fall."

To blame is "the large area of subtropical high pressure that dominates our weather through much of the summer months," explains NWS meteorologist Chuck Caracozza. "The cold fronts don’t make it down here that early. That’s because the high pressure’s keeping it up to the north. As we move on into the more winter months here, that’s when the cold fronts start to come down and that’s when we get into the cooler weather.”

Historically, South Floridians have to wait until the first week of November before temperatures drop below 60 degrees. And, because of warmer ocean waters, Miami Beach residents have to wait even longer. The NWS pulled together the following infographic showing median "fall weather" dates.

"None of these dates are set in stone," Caracozza cautions. "When it changes, you'll notice it because we've been dealing with this humid pattern for the past four or five months. When we get the dry weather it's definitely noticeable."

Credit National Weather Service
Infographic of median "fall weather" dates created by National Weather Service.

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