Winter starts in South Florida with more cool weather and a rare sight in the sky

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Monday marked the start of winter, and it’s going to feel like it — at least by South Florida standards.

Expect the low temperatures to dip back into the 50s overnight Monday into Tuesday, Local 10 meteorologist Julie Durda forecasts.

Monday is the shortest day of the year, and tonight is also the time to look to the sky for something that hasn’t been seen for centuries.

Jupiter and Saturn will merge in the night sky, appearing closer to one another than they have since Galileo’s time in the 17th century.

It will be the closest Jupiter-Saturn pairing since July 1623. That conjunction was almost impossible to see, however, because of its closeness to the sun.

So, Monday’s conjunction will actually be the closes pairing that is visible since March 1226 — when Genghis Khan was conquering Asia.

To see it, be ready shortly after sunset Monday, looking to the southwest fairly low on the horizon. Saturn will be the smaller, fainter blob at Jupiter’s upper right. Binoculars will be needed to separate the two planets.

Looking further ahead, it could also be a cool-ish Christmas on Friday, with the potential for temperatures to then lower into the 40s on Saturday.

Watch Julie’s forecast in the video at the top of this page, and for the latest forecast information, click over to our Weather Authority page.


About the Authors

A native of Sacramento, California, Julie Durda joined Local 10 with extensive knowledge and experience in meteorology from various parts of the United States.

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