Lottie

Can anyone give me a true weather report for the month of December/early Jan in Orlando and the Gulf Coast?

Will we be able to walk around in shorts during the day?
Will we be able to sit around the pool during the day?

kim

We went first week of December and it was high 70's/low 80's. Warm enough to swim in gulf and pool (pool was warmer). It will probably be cooler by early January but early December was great.

CMcDaniel

End of Dec, beginning of Jan in Orlando temps normally will be in the lower 70's. There can be cold snaps though, giving you 50s and 60s instead.

For the beaches, Tampa area to Sarasota (closest Gulf beaches), it will usually run in the 70's with an occasional 80+ or 60+ degree day. It's a rare day I wear anything other than shorts all winter (living in Tampa) and I am the first to get cold! I won't swim in the Gulf then, but some visitors do all winter long--depends on what you are used to. Most all the pools are heated so swimming is a year round activity.

Kimberley

Hi! I really don't want to be a party pooper; I just want to make sure you pack the right clothes and don't have any surprises.... I lived in Tampa 1997-1998 and I wore shorts about 2-3 days between November and March. I had moved there from south florida (where it really is shorts weather most of the year) and I was so shocked by Tampa weather that I actually bought a suede & shearling winter coat and wore it pretty much every day all winter! New Years Eve, I was at Disney World in long johns, jeans, a wool sweater and my winter coat. I spent only that one winter in Tampa, so it may have been atypical...but it can happen. Oh, by the way...if you're assuming I don't know what "real" cold is...I lived in Montreal for 20 years!!

Again, I'm not trying to be negative...I'm sure you'll have fun in Tampa...but if you're looking for a beach vacation, you might want to try a little further south...
KK

Neal

As a 20-year resident of Central Florida who now lives in New York, the answer to your question is that it can---and does--get surprisingly cold at that time of year. In fact, winters have been getting colder over the last 25 years, a fact attested to by the many area orange groves that have been destroyed by hard freezes and the decimation of the Australian Pine, a species particularly susceptible to cold weather. The good news is that the cold never sticks around for more than a day or so, and then the weather is stunning.

CMcDaniel

KK...I lived here when you did. That WAS an unusual year--97-98 was the El Nino winter when it rained constantly during what is normally the driest and sunniest period of the year, but still, it was no where near as bad as a suede and shearling coat would indicated. I'm thrilled if I get to wear one of my sweaters, and the wool coat and parka from the days we lived in Dallas and Savannah haven't been touched here.

Someone gave a great website for temperatures. www.wunderground.com. Once within that site, look for the link that says "historical data" or something to that effect. It covers daily temps from 1994 to present anywhere within the US. It shows that in Jan and Feb of the '98 winter there were 3 days where the highs ranged from 55-60 (nothing below that), 21 days in the 60's, 28 days in the 70's and 6 days in the 80's. Winter of '99 when El Nino was gone, there were 4 days in the 50s, 11 in the 60s, 40 in the 70s, and 4 in the 80s. The further south the warmer of course (Sarasota included), but I was giving Lottie beaches closest to what I thought her primary destination was, Orlando.