Cold weather blasts the South

Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

A Canadian high-pressure system pushed a blast of winter weather through the Southeast on Monday, leaving people shivering as far south as Florida.

Strawberry growers there tried to salvage delicate blooms, schools in at least eight North Carolina counties closed because of snow, and cold- weather shelters opened in Pascagoula, Miss.

Though temperatures were below normal for the first week of December, the South does get frigid weather from time to time, said Christopher Hedge, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

He said the lowest temperatures likely would be Monday night and tonight before a midweek warm-up.

Such cold is so unusual that Florida officials issued a statement reminding people to dress warmly and bring their pets inside. Broward County on the southeast coast and Lee County in the southwest opened cold-weather shelters.

Temperatures in the Sunshine State were expected to dip into the upper 30s, but with wind chill will be lower, even in normally balmy Fort Lauderdale.

The National Weather Service issued a hard-freeze warning from Monday night through this morning for southeast Alabama, southwest and south central Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.

Monday’s cold weather forced cancellation of schools in eight North Carolina counties, where 6 inches of snow fell on Mount Mitchell and 1 to 3 inches was reported in Asheville. Frigid weather was forecast statewide, and a snow advisory was issued for the mountains.