If you’re looking to Florida for a white Christmas, keep dreaming. While Central Florida has had its weather extremes on Christmas, none have included snow.
The climatological probability for Orlando and Central Florida to see snow is 0%!
There have, however, been some severe cold outbreaks around Christmas in Central Florida and around the state.
The coldest Christmas in Orlando, and for most of Florida, was in 1983. This is when the high temperature only hit 36 degrees and the low temperature was 21 degrees in Orlando.
In fact, the cold was felt statewide on this day in 1983. Northern Florida had temperatures dip into the teens.
Places like Tallahassee dipped to 14 degrees with a high temperature of only 29 degrees. This was also Tallahassee’s coldest Christmas on record.
Jacksonville dropped to 11 degrees with a high of only 30 degrees.
Miami was cold by Miami standards, but not as frigid as most of Florida. Miami had a high of 51 degrees on Christmas Day of 1983. If you’re wondering, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Miami is 27 degrees.
The cold outbreak of 1983 caused more than a half-billion dollars in damage to crops. It also led to six deaths across the state. The cold also led to several fires due to faulty heating units.
The warmest Christmas for Central Florida was pretty recent, and that was in 2015. This is when Orlando hit 86 degrees with a low of 69 degrees. These temperatures are more typical of May rather than Christmas in Central Florida.
So what is the standard for Christmas Day in Orlando? The average high is 71 degrees, with an average low of 51 degrees.
