The National Weather Service has issued warnings for a second night in a row for freezing temperatures through west central Florida, including Pasco County.
The group’s Ruskin office has issued a frost advisory between the hours of 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. early Thursday for areas that include inland Pasco County, especially local cities like Dade City and Zephyrhills. That means residents should expect temperatures of between 30 and 35 degrees, with widespread frost threatening to damage or destroy cold-sensitive plants.
An advisory like this means that frost is likely, weather officials said, and that sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.
The cold is the result of high pressure, and the clear skies and lighter winds that come with it. That creates radiational cooling that will produce freezing temperatures throughout the Nature Coast area, as far south as Pasco.
The area remains under a severe weather alert caused mostly by temperatures dropping below freezing. A freeze watch is in effect for Citrus and Levy counties.
