Floridians have been asked to keep their guard up against iguanas plummeting out of trees and possibly hurting them as temperatures plunge in their state and other parts of the US.
The unusual warning came as one of the season’s first blasts of wintry weather began to take hold in the eastern two-thirds of the US, from the Great Lakes to Florida and Texas.
Heavy snow was forecast in northern states, continuing this evening in regions surrounding Lake Michigan. A winter storm warning went into effect on Monday, cautioning the public about wind gusts up to 30mph combined with up to 18in of precipitation, creating a phenomenon known as thundersnow.
In some parts of the midwest, more than a foot of snow had already fallen by Monday morning.
Meanwhile, in Florida, residents were warned of the rare hazard of iguanas falling from trees, as the reptiles become paralyzed by the cold. Freezing temperatures were predicted for the top third of the state, as far south as Gainesville.
Weather experts in Florida warned residents to take the threat of falling iguanas seriously. The reptiles begin to feel sluggish when temperatures drop below 50F and can shut down entirely when they are lower than 40F.
In January 2023, a man taking part in an outdoor yoga session in Miami was struck and injured by an iguana falling from a tree.
The snap will be brief but record-setting, according to meteorologists who say the blast of extremely cold Arctic air from Canada, uncommon this early in November, will extend much farther south and east than usual.
“This storm pattern will introduce some of the coldest air seen for early November and that is the reason for the robust snow amounts expected in the Great Lakes and the far southern extent of the flurries into the southern Appalachians,” said Chad Merrill, AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist, on its website.
“The lake-effect snow bands that set up can dump several inches of snow in a short period of time due to the vast temperature difference between the Arctic cold air and the very warm Great Lakes.”
In an advisory on Monday, the National Weather Service said temperatures would “tie or break many records across the south-east through tonight”. The NWS also warned that gusty winds and dry conditions would elevate the threat of fire across the central Gulf coast.
The Arctic air mass, described by CNN as “a full scale polar plunge”, was set to affect almost the entire eastern two-thirds of the US, and was already making travel conditions treacherous in Chicago and other midwest metropolitan areas on Monday morning.
“For some of the major metro areas this snow is coming way earlier than average. Chicago O’Hare, on average, often records the first inch of snowfall accumulation on 17 January,” Merrill said.
Residents of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin were forecast to see the worst of the weather, while cold weather warnings were issued in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Some of the earliest snow on record was recorded in Asheville, North Carolina; while an early freeze Monday into Tuesday was expected in numerous other southern states, from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia.
According to AccuWeather, “by Tuesday night, the lake-effect engine will start to wind down”, with the cold air retreating north and pockets of more mild air spreading eastward from the Great Plains.
The cold air will also hasten the end of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season by removing heat from the atmosphere that fuels tropical storms. On average, fewer than 5% of cyclones in any given year form in November, the final month of the season, and cooler sea temperatures inhibit strengthening.
