South Florida to get really cold in the next few hours

An arctic blast was expected to plunge temperatures into the low to mid-40s along the coast and into the upper 30s inland on Monday night and Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

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It was expected to be the coldest weather of the year. Freeze warnings have been posted for the western sections of Palm Beach and Broward counties, and residents in those areas might wake up to find patches of frost on their lawns or windows.

"There are areas where it could reach near record low temperatures," meteorologist Brad Diehl said. "It could get near freezing or below."

Conditions already were nippy on Monday morning with temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s. High temperatures on Monday afternoon were forecast to be in the mid 60s, or about 10 degrees below normal.

Around the state on Monday: Low temperatures dipped to 23 degrees in Tallahassee, 24 in Gainesville and a record low 31 degrees in Orlando. Around the country: Lows plunged to minus 14 degrees in Jackson Hole, Wyo., minus 3 degrees in Duluth, Minn., minus 1 degree in Burlington, Vt., and 22 degrees in New York.