It Finally Feels Like Fall, At Least For Now

MIAMI (CBS4) – As Hurricane Sandy continues to track to North and head towards the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast, here in South Florida we are enjoying a real taste of Fall courtesy of a strong cold front that moved across the state over the weekend.

South Florida woke to cool, dry and breezy conditions Monday morning. The lows were in the 60s and the upper 50s which is a bit chillier than the average low at this time of year of 71 degrees.

The high temperatures on Monday will only be in the low 70s. The average high this time of year is around 82 degrees.

Although the rain chance remains low due to a very dry stable air mass in place, CBS4 meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez said we will see the potential for more coastal flooding due to the full moon, seasonal high tides and the large swells due to the higher wave heights associated with Hurricane Sandy.

High waves continue to push sea water onto some coastal roads, like A1A in Ft. Lauderdale, along with entering homes and business.

Portions of A1A at Fort Lauderdale Beach were closed Monday morning due to this coastal flooding. There have been numerous reports of flooding in the coastal areas of Hollywood Beach in Broward and Golden Beach in Miami-Dade.

Breaking waves of 10 to 20 feet will continue to lead to dangerous surf conditions, strong rip currents and major beach erosion. A small craft advisory also in place due to rough marine conditions.

Monday night will even colder with some inland areas possibly dipping down in the upper 40s and near the coast we'll drop down to the low 50s. Temperatures will be about 10 to 20 degrees below normal.

Gonzalez said we could see set record lows since the CBS4 Storm Team is forecasting 56 degrees in Miami Beach which would break the current record low of 58 degrees set back in 1968. Ft. Lauderdale could hit a low of 52 degrees, which would tie the record low set back in 1953.

Highs on Tuesday will remain in the low 70s. On Wednesday for Halloween, we'll enjoy a cool start with the low 50s. Highs will creep up a bit to the upper 70s. And a milder trend late week as lows will warm up slightly to the low 60s and afternoon highs will be rebound back to normal in the low 80s.