The weekend's big February chill

Fooled ya.

Maybe winter got a little miffed at being called soft and warm, or it's a jokester that waited until you packed the flannel and folded away the plant covers.

Either way, the season no one could blame you for thinking was over is sending a brief, but possibly potent shot of cold toward Florida that could drive temperatures to freezing or below the next couple mornings.

So find the flannels and unpack the plant covers.

The National Weather Service expects Monday morning to drop into the middle 20s around Brooksville and high 20s near the coast.

The cold won't hang around, though, said Tyler Fleming, weather service meteorologist in Ruskin. Sunday and Monday should be the only freezing mornings.

"It will move in pretty quickly and move out pretty quickly," he said.

The line of rain and possible stray thunderstorms ahead of the cold should be out of the area by today but you can expect a cloudy, windy, raw start to the weekend with highs in the 60s. You probably won't see a huge amount of sunshine until Sunday when it may stay below 60 the whole day, Fleming said.

The cold air will surge in today, riding winds of 15 mph to 20 mph. The wind, though will stir the air enough to keep temperatures from falling too low.

Forecasters say it should be right at freezing around Spring Hill and maybe just above freezing along the coast.

People in Brooksville can expect temperatures to reach or go slightly below the freezing mark.

The wind also will kick up the Gulf of Mexico and shelve any idea of boating on Saturday with open water seeing waves of 7 feet.

There should be little doubt about freezing temperatures Monday morning when the cold air settles in and thermometers across the county could drop into the 20s. The afternoon may get to the middle 60s.

By Tuesday, though, folks should start seeing afternoons return to the 70s and even get to near 80 by the end of the week.

The cold front that blanketed the Midwest earlier this week is the first one strong enough to make it into the Florida peninsula since early January and temperatures have been well above normal since.

Monday tied a record high temperature in Tampa of 84, also hit in 1957.