Another cold front will arrive this afternoon bringing down an arctic blast. High temperatures today may make a run at the 60 degree mark, but the front currently over north Florida should get here after lunch, dramatically increasing the wind.

Weather projections:

Wednesday, Feb. 4
Winds today will be light this morning. North to northwest winds around 20mph this afternoon with gusts to 30mph. This morning’s cloud cover will give way to sunshine as it will remain dry over the next few days. The front coming in this afternoon is a dry front. Temperatures tonight will drop into the upper 30s, but should stay above 40 degrees on the northern side of the island. With winds so strong tonight, the core of the colder air will be felt inland and not over Sanibel because the water temperatures are still in the 60s. Tonight there will be northwest winds at 15 mph with gusts to 25mph. Wind chills overnight will be close to 32 degrees.

Thursday, Feb. 5
Morning wind chills close to 32 degrees. It will be a breezy and chilly day with high temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees. Winds will be north to northwest at 15mph and subsiding in the afternoon. Thursday night could be a few degrees cooler due to lighter winds which should be less than 10 mph from the north or northeast.

If the temperatures on Wednesday or Thursday night go lower than 39 degrees on Sanibel, it will be the coldest of the season. Friday should end the cold wave with high temperatures near 70. Weekend temperatures will be in the 70s.

Source: City of Sanibel