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East Central Florida Freeze Dates

Ornamental nursuries, citrus and vegetables are grown across much of east central Florida, so a freeze (temperatures at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) is always significant. Therefore, the Melbourne National Weather Service will issue Outlooks, Watches and Warnings anytime freezing temperatures are expected.

Northern areas around the Ocala National Forest have a freeze almost every cool season.  Daytona Beach and Metro Orlando to Canaveral will have a freeze in about 80-90 percent of the years.  Melbourne will have a freeze in about 75 percent of the cool seasons, while the Treasure Coast will have a freeze in about 60 percent of the years. 

Significant freezes (temperatures in the mid-upper 20s, or colder) occur mainly from the latter half of December through January.  There are many notable freezes around Christmas when the sun angle and amount of daylight are lowest, but one of the most significant freezes occurred Jan. 18-22 in 1977.

The median date (half the years earlier/half the years later) of the first freeze is mid to late December across the north and in the first or second week of January from Melbourne to Ft. Pierce.

The table below lists the dates* of the earliest and latest freezes:

*Note that the period of record is different for each site and all except Daytona Beach have some missing data