Button up, a chill is coming

It may reach only 58 in the bay area today, with lows below freezing by Sunday in some parts of the region.

By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 26, 2002

TAMPA -- Holiday travelers dashed about Tampa International Airport on Wednesday dressed in cashmere, flannel and leather, but not all of them were heading north.

Some were just stepping outside, where the mercury was dropping like a stone.

By this morning, temperatures are expected to dip into the low 40s across Tampa and St. Petersburg. It could hit freezing in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.

And the chill is likely to stick around for several days. The coldest day of the snap is expected to be Sunday, when lows could dip below 30 in some parts of the Tampa Bay area.

"There's always a cold spell this time of year," said Sheryle Baker of Lutz, who put on a purple turtleneck and green cardigan sweater to drop her husband off at the airport.

"It doesn't last that long," she said. "It's still the best weather in the country."

That certainly seemed true Wednesday, when the storm that had been pummeling the nation's midsection moved into the Northeast, where it dropped up to 2 feet of snow in some areas.

That was enough to prompt officials in upstate New York to shut down 103 miles of a major highway. Airlines canceled numerous flights, though that had little impact on operations at Tampa International, officials said.

The chill here is the result of low-pressure winds from the Atlantic mixing with high-pressure winds above Texas, said Richard Rude, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

The combination is pushing blustery weather across the entire peninsula of Florida.

Rude said there will be little warmup today, with temperatures expected to top out at about 58 in Tampa and St. Petersburg, and about 55 in northern counties.

But the real chill comes Sunday, with an expected low of 38 degrees locally and below freezing around Brooksville.

"By Monday, it should be back in the upper 40s for the nighttime low," Rude said.

But cold isn't the only weather concern for area residents. For some, the recent deluge of rain is a bigger problem.

More than 11 inches of rain have fallen in the Tampa Bay area during December -- far above the historical average of 1.79 inches.

The downpour has caused flooding in parts of the region, particularly along the Withlacoochee River in Hernando County.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Withlacoochee stood at 13.6 feet. The river floods at 12 feet. With clear skies called for in coming days, the river is expected to crest at 14.1 feet by Saturday.

Dianna Measels lives nearby and spent Christmas Eve helping neighbors raise a refrigerator and stove up on concrete blocks and pull rugs from the floor.

Her own house is elevated and was dry inside, but two-thirds of her yard was under water that ran 4 feet deep in places.

Jeff and Sheryle Baker can relate. As they sat bundled in the lobby of the airport waiting for Jeff's plane on Christmas Day, their biggest fear was more rain. That could overflow the lake by their home in Lutz and flood the area.

The cold weather was actually a nice surprise.

"It's really wonderful," Sheryle Baker said. "The heat is intense most of the year. It's nice to have the cold and be in the Christmas spirit."

-- Times staff writer Will Van Zant contributed to this story.

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