INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Residents are encouraged to layer up as another cold front with wind chills as low as 10 degrees was expected to breeze through the local area over the weekend. Wind gusts from the northwest could be as high as 40 mph in the Vero Beach area, according to meteorologists.
“Dress in multiple layers. Cover exposed skin with hats,” said Megan Tollefsen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. “Saturday will be the coldest day of the weekend. Don’t spend an extended period of time outdoors.”
Indian River County will feel the teeth-chattering cold – brought by an Arctic front – on Saturday. A freeze watch, along with a cold weather watch, will take effect at 7 p.m. Saturday for all of Indian River County and last until 1 p.m. Sunday, meteorologists said.
Saturday morning will be partly sunny with a high temperature near 64 degrees, which will dip to the mid-20s overnight. The wind chill will be about 10 degrees Saturday night, according to Tollefsen.
“Protect your plants. Bring any pets inside,” Tollefsen said. “Preparations should be done by Saturday morning at the latest. Gusty winds can blow loose objects around.”
Sunday morning will be sunny with a high near 50 degrees. Sunday night will have a low in the mid-20s with a wind chill in the mid-teens.
The dramatic change in weather was part of Winter Storm Fern – the Arctic blast impacting millions across the U.S. Fern brought heavy snow, rainfall and freezing temperatures to areas across the nation, causing power outages and traffic jams.
The pounding weather left several thousand people without power in states such as Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, according to the PowerOutage website. The winter storm has also contributed to more than 60 deaths in the U.S.
