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MIAMI - Parts of the Florida Panhandle reached record low temperatures early Sunday morning, before most parts of the state began experiencing a slow warmup throughout the remainder of the day.

Still, freeze warnings were issued for northern regions of the state for Sunday night and early Monday, as forecasters expected low temperatures to dip around 30 in Dixie, Gadsen, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison and Taylor counties.

Crestview, located about 46 miles northeast of Pensacola, got down to 23 degrees early Sunday -- one degree colder than its previous low for the date, set 27 years ago according to the National Weather Service.

"That is awfully cold," said Angel Montanez, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mobile, Ala.

Residents should protect tender vegetation, pets and exposed pipes, according to the warnings.

Red flag fire warnings -- issued when humidity is under 35 percent for a period of several hours -- were issued for the entire Florida Panhandle and other northern sections of the state.

Although no other Florida cities besides Crestview appeared to break records, many had a chilly early portion of Sunday morning. Tallahassee and Perry both dipped to 26 degrees early Sunday, Cross City fell to 27 and Jacksonville, Brooksville and Marianna all got down to 28.

High temperatures across much of the state were slightly cooler than normal Sunday, but not as much as the disparity between Saturday's highs and the typical warmth for the date.

Major Florida cities were an average of 12 degrees below normal on Saturday; by Sunday, the statewide average was only 5 degrees off the normal high.

Tallahassee, with an afternoon high of 62 degrees, was seven degrees cooler than its average for the date. Melbourne (70) was six degrees less than typical; Vero Beach (72), Daytona Beach (69), Miami (74) and Tampa (70) were five degrees cooler than usual, although strong afternoon breezes seemed to provide an added cooling effect.

Fort Lauderdale (75) and West Palm Beach (74) were four degrees off typical highs; Naples, at 76, was only three degrees cooler and Key West (76) was two degrees off its norm.

Temperatures for Monday were expected to be in the 60s in the northern half of the state, to the mid-70s in the southern portions.




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