Big chill coming to Bradenton area for Christmas weekend, forecast says
If you’ll be in Bradenton for Christmas, you might want to stock up on some hot cocoa.
Just in time for the holiday weekend, the first cold front of winter is set to dip Southwest Florida temperatures into the 30s and 40s.
There’s also a good chance of rain on the way for the upcoming work week.
If the weekend forecast holds, Bradenton could see its lowest Christmas Day temperatures since 1999, when some area lows reached into the bottom 40s, according to local weather records.
For comparison, an average Christmas Day in the Sarasota-Bradenton area has a high of 74 degrees and a low of 54 degrees, the National Weather Service calculates.
Here’s a look at the forecast around Bradenton and Manatee County.
Bradenton, Sarasota and Palmetto
Monday is predicted to be mostly sunny in Bradenton, Palmetto and north Sarasota with a high in the mid-70s and a low in the upper 50s.
Clouds will move in overnight; Tuesday will start with a slight chance of showers, increasing to moderate chance of rain in the afternoon. Tuesday night will see high rain chances and the possibility of thunderstorms, forecasters predict.
Rain chances drop off on Wednesday morning before a partly sunny day.
Thursday should be cloudy, forecasters say. A moderate chance of rain is predicted from Thursday afternoon to Friday as a cold front moves in.
A pattern of highs in the mid-70s and nighttime temps in the low 60s is expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
That will end as the cold snap sets in on Friday, forecasters predict, with temperatures plummeting through the late afternoon and evening to an overnight low around 45 degrees.
Saturday could be even chillier, with a high around 55 and a low in the upper 30s.
The cold will hang around for Christmas Day, and it is set to be one of the coldest in years, with upper temps in the low 50s and nighttime temps in the bottom to mid-40s.
Anna Maria Island
Monday is predicted to be mostly sunny in Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach with a high in the mid-70s and a low around 60.
Clouds will move in overnight; Tuesday will start with a slight chance of showers, increasing to moderate chance of rain in the afternoon. Tuesday night will see high rain chances and the possibility of thunderstorms, forecasters predict.
Rain chances drop off on Wednesday morning before a partly sunny day.
Thursday should be cloudy, forecasters say. A moderate chance of rain is predicted from Thursday afternoon to Friday as a cold front moves in.
A pattern of highs in the mid-70s and nighttime temps in the low 60s is expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
That will end as the cold snap sets in on Friday, forecasters predict, with temperatures plummeting through the late afternoon and evening to an overnight low around 45 degrees.
Saturday could be even chillier, with a high around 55 and a low around 40.
The cold will hang around for Christmas Day, and it is set to be one of the coldest in years, with upper temps in the low to mid-50s and nighttime temps in the upper 40s.
Inland Manatee County
Monday is predicted to be mostly sunny in Lakewood Ranch, Myakka City and Parrish with a high in the mid-70s and a low in the upper 50s.
Clouds will move in overnight, and a high chance of rain is predicted starting Tuesday afternoon. Showers are forecast to continue into Tuesday evening.
Rain chances drop on Wednesday morning before a partly sunny day.
Thursday should be cloudy, forecasters say. A moderate chance of rain is predicted from Thursday afternoon to Friday as a cold front moves in.
A pattern of highs in the mid-70s and nighttime temps in the low 60s is expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
That will end as the cold snap sets in on Friday, forecasters predict, with temperatures plummeting through the late afternoon and evening to an overnight low in the bottom 40s.
Saturday could be even chillier, with a high around 55 and a low in the mid to upper-30s (as low as 36 degrees in Myakka).
The cold will hang around for Christmas Day, and it is set to be one of the coldest in years, with upper temps in the low to mid-50s and nighttime temps in the low to mid-40s.
This story was originally published December 18, 2022 at 4:13 PM.