Morning Frosts Arrive With Coldest Weather Of Winter So Far

    Storms rolled through North Lake County early Sunday morning, bringing rain and high winds. The system, which blanketed the state, spurred tornados in south Florida, but North Lake appeared to avoid any serious damage.
    Wind gusts were reported as high as 30 miles per hour at a weather station located at the Umatilla Municipal Airport, and power outages occurred in localized areas, including the Shockley area of Altoona.
    The system moved quickly through, and by mid-morning the rain was mostly over, with gusting winds continuing throughout Sunday and into Monday, when the coldest temperatures of the winter were expected. In advance of the cold, Lake County announced it would be opening cold weather shelters throughout the county. Those shelters were to be open both Monday and Tuesday night, when temperatures were expected to dip to near freezing in low-lying areas of the county.
    Both Tuesday and Wednesday morning saw temperatures dip to the low 30’s throughout the north end of the county. However the cold was short-lived, as early frosts quickly melted as the sun came up each morning.