It's no doubt the winter in South Florida has been different compared to previous years.
Since the start of the winter season, we've continuously seen bouts of chilly spells and stormy conditions as well as severe weather more often than usual.
January was a wetter than normal month for parts of South Florida and now February has been chillier with afternoon highs staying below seasonal averages.
To understand why its been chillier and wetter this winter season, we have to go beyond our local forecast and look at the big picture.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
A strong El Niño is in place right now, which tends to throw a wet blanket across the southern tier of the U.S.
An El Niño is defined by a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. This pattern affects weather patterns thousands of miles away, usually more noticeable during the winter months.
In our case, the El Niño supports the subtropical jet stream responsible for steering storms along the southern States. That explains why January was wetter than normal. The Subtropical Jet also drags colder air with these storms leading to this frequent burst of cool snaps.
Local
The coldest night so far in Miami this year has been 52 degrees which happened on January 21st.
The coldest day in Miami so far this year has been 68 degrees recorded on the 29th of January.
