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Remembering Lakeland’s coldest days on record

Lakeland’s coldest day on record was on Dec. 13, 1962 when Swan City hit 20º — it would go on to reach it twice more in 1985.

Governor Farris Bryant and Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle E. Conner examine frozen bean vines.

Florida’s Governor Farris Bryant and Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle E. Conner inspected the damage to plants following the 1962 freeze.

Photo via Florida Memory

There’s no getting around it: It’s cold, Lakeland.

Even Central Florida couldn’t escape the cool blasts of Winter Storm Blair, so we’re staying inside and looking back at some of the headlines on the coldest days we’ve had here in Lakeland.

The day the cold set records

Lakeland’s first coldest day on record took place on Dec. 13, 1962, when temperatures hit a record-breaking 20°. It wouldn’t reach that same low until 1985 when it had back-to-back cold days on Jan. 21 + 22.

That sure puts this weather in perspective, huh? The closest we’ve come to that temperature in the past few days was when temps got to 37° on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

A newspaper clipping from the Tampa Tribune in 1985 with the headline "Bone-chilling freeze stuns Florida"

In January 1985, the Tampa Tribune covered the freeze affecting all of Florida.

Screenshot via Newspapers.com

What the headlines said

So, what else was going on in Lakeland the day after the freeze in 1962? Looking back, the Lakeland Ledger reported on upcoming holiday events and Florida Southern’s next basketball game against Georgia State.

The papers also covered the intense weather we were having at the time, saying that the governor would visit to see the citrus crop damage and heat repairs were needed all over town.

How to weather the weather today

Okay, so we’re not breaking records (yet), but that doesn’t mean braving this weather is easy. Thankfully, we have many museums to explore indoors, indoor activity recommendations to keep you warm, and hot soups to indulge in.

Don’t forget to take a peek at what the rest of the season has in store for us. Who knows, maybe this will be a record-breaking year after all.

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