PALM BAY, Fla., Oct. 27, 2026 —

Florida doesn't get many truly cold nights, but when it does, the National Weather Service (NWS) has a set of alerts to warn people. Some of the names changed in 2024, so here's a plain-language guide based on what the agency itself says.

The name change

On Oct. 1, 2024, the NWS renamed and combined several cold alerts:

  • Wind Chill Watch became Extreme Cold Watch.
  • Wind Chill Warning became Extreme Cold Warning.
  • Wind Chill Advisory became Cold Weather Advisory.
  • Hard Freeze Watch was renamed Freeze Watch, and Hard Freeze Warning was consolidated into Freeze Warning.

The agency said the changes seek to clarify that cold can be dangerous with or without wind. A "hard freeze" can still be mentioned inside a freeze alert: NWS Tampa Bay says the "What" part of a Freeze Watch or Warning will indicate the likelihood of temperatures of 27 degrees or lower for two or more hours.

Alert levels differ by office

Each NWS office sets its own local criteria, so the same alert can mean different numbers in different parts of the state.

Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida (NWS Tampa Bay): - Freeze Watch: issued during the first 48 hours when temperatures could drop to 32 degrees or lower for two or more hours. - Freeze Warning: issued within 12 hours, or up to 24 hours out if confidence is high, when temperatures are expected to drop to 32 degrees or lower for two or more hours. - Frost Advisory: temperatures expected to fall between 33 and 36 degrees with good radiational cooling (light winds and clear skies). - Wind chill alerts apply when winds are forecast to be 10 mph or greater. A Cold Weather Advisory is for wind chills of 25 degrees or lower on the Nature Coast (Levy, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties) or 35 degrees or lower in the rest of West Central and Southwest Florida. An Extreme Cold Warning is for wind chills of 10 degrees or lower on the Nature Coast or 20 degrees or lower elsewhere, for three or more hours.

Big Bend and Panhandle (NWS Tallahassee): - Frost Advisory: issued for temperatures of 33 to 36 degrees when frost is expected. - Freeze Watch/Warning: temperatures of 32 degrees or lower for at least two hours. - Cold Weather Advisory: temperatures or wind chills of 15 to 24 degrees for Florida counties. - Extreme Cold Watch/Warning: temperatures or wind chills below 15 degrees for Florida counties.

The Tallahassee office says it suspends frost advisories for the season after the first widespread frost, usually until March 15, and suspends freeze alerts after the first widespread light freeze, with an exception for a hard freeze of at least 25 degrees. Frost will still be mentioned in the point-and-click forecasts when it applies.

When does the cold usually arrive?

For the Tallahassee area, the NWS lists average first-frost dates based on 1991-2020 climate normals: Nov. 10 in Tallahassee, Nov. 12 in Panama City and Nov. 24 in Apalachicola. It lists average first freezes of Nov. 25, Nov. 24 and Dec. 13 for those same three sites. These are averages, not forecasts.

To see the criteria for where you live, find your local forecast office at weather.gov.

Those are the facts, directly from the source.

Sources: NWS, cold hazard simplification announcement; NWS Tampa Bay, Cold Weather DSS; NWS Tallahassee, Frost and Freeze Information. All pages checked Oct. 27, 2026.

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