Today

Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Patchy drizzle in the morning. Highs in the lower 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear. Patchy frost after midnight. Lows in the lower 30s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

Forecast Details

A broad upper trough was digging across the central Continental US the sub-tropopause jet stream was on the east side of the trough, with the right rear quadrant over the deep south. In the lower levels, a surface low was developing offshore of Daytona Beach this morning, with increasing north-northeast flow over the southeast Georgia and northeast Florida coastline. Low ceilings blanketed much of the JAX County Warning Area due to low level isentropic lift. MSAS analysis indicated a weaker surface low over central Georgia, and this may reflect the 925/850 low position. Despite abundant cloud cover, temperatures are falling into the middle 30s near the Altamaha river basin this hour with middle/upper 40s reported across northeast Florida.

The surface low pressure offshore of the Florida Atlantic coast will gradually track north-northeast of the area this morning, with coastal convergence bringing a low chance of rain showers and patchy drizzle to our eastern zones through midday. As the upper trough approaches and continues to deepen over the eastern Continental US this afternoon, it will bring drier air over the area and push the low level 925/850 MB low over Georgia offshore of the Georgia coast. Low ceilings are expected to erode from west-east this afternoon. Temperatures will range from the low/middle 50s across Georgia and the coast to near 60 across our southern Florida zones.

Tonight leaned toward the warmer met MOS due to elevated winds over night, but shallow cold air advection/drainage flow from the north-northwest around a surface ridge over the Gulf Coast region will focus a dry and cold air mass across our western Georgia and North Florida Suwannee River valley zones. Have raised a freeze watch tonight for these two Florida counties. Patchy frost will be possible in sheltered areas tonight.

Today's Pollen Levels: 6.8 Medium(on a scale to 12); Predominate Pollen: Juniper.

For additional information visit the National Weather Service in Jacksonville website on the internet at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/