Record low temperatures, plummeting today into the low 30s, seems to have stunned Miamians more than the iguanas that are falling out of trees. Activity has been warm online, with a few brave souls publishing status updates while braving the cold.
The freezing temperatures prompted Miami Beach 411 contributor Carlos Miller to confirm sightings of snow flurries that he first heard about on Twitter and Facebook:
"The initial report came on Twitter from [@WSVN] citing unconfirmed reports of snow flurries at the Town and Country Mall.... Then a few people who were hanging out at the Kendall Ale House further confirmed the reports on Facebook."
But in spite of the reports, and Miller's efforts to chase snow, it seemed like it would've been easier to find the chupacabra than falling flakes.
At this point, Redlands farmers would probably prefer a blood-sucking creature over this freakish cold. Earlier this morning, the owner of Schnebly Winery (@schneblywinery) tweeted about how he's protecting his tropical fruit crop: "We are at 33 degrees and we just started all the pumps. I could see 29 again but we are not as windy as last night. This isn't much fun. Pete."
The situation was funnier for Miami Twitterer @lorizouiten who quipped: "I guess hell has frozen over because it's always been hotter than hell here in Miami." Kendall resident @pamrocksworld would probably agree, as she found a little surprise this morning: "Had to scrape frost off my car windows to go to gym!!!!! This is Miami, FLORIDA!?!"
Further down in the Keys, @robertfleming claimed "Our tropical island under attack!" and linked to a picture of his dashboard thermometer reading 36 F.
North of us, neighbors in Broward and West Palm are faring no better. @DougE was pissed off, threatening to "shove a frozen iguana up the nose of the next liberal that mentions global warming," while @AllisonNazarian made an observation while taking her kids to school: "The Boca crossing guards are dressed like they are ready for next expedition to the North Pole."
And amid news of death tolls in Afghanistan and a bomb threat at Kuwait's stock exchange, the cold snap made Twitter headlines @breakingnews: "Miami wakes up to 36 degree temperatures, breaking a record low set in 1927; several other Florida cities also at record lows."
Want to talk about the cold on Twitter? Use hashtag #miamifreeze.
