NEW YEAR TO USHER IN ANOTHER COOL SPELL

South Florida will keep above-normal warmth this week, with daytime temperatures peaking in the high 70s to low 80s into the weekend.

But the new year may bring a robust cool-down, with some forecasts predicting a high temperature of just 67 degrees in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, and overnight dips into the low 50s.

Chris Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said it’s still too early to say for sure the strength of the cold front, with models differing on its bluster.

“We are taking a conservative approach right now because there are so many differences,” Fisher said. “At the very least, it does look like there will be some relief from the warm weather.”

While a cool front washed through the state Monday, temperatures are expected to rebound to 81 degrees today at Palm Beach International Airport. That’s 6 degrees above normal.

Overnight temperatures also will remain above normal, with dips only into the high 60s. The normal overnight low for this time of year is 58 degrees.

An easterly wind is to blame for the warm temperatures, Fisher said. It also is helping increase the possibility of rain this week, with shower chances running at

between 20 percent and 40 percent into Saturday.

AccuWeather is more optimistic about a strong cold front next week, putting Tuesday’s high temperature at 67 degrees in West Palm Beach. Weather Underground is forecasting the same.

The chill would be the result of a “far-reaching arctic blast” that could bring icy conditions into the Carolinas, according to AccuWeather.

Meteorologists at the NWS office in Mobile, Ala., mention the chances of a “wintry mix” of precipitation late Sunday into Monday morning, which would include the Pensacola area.

Despite incredible snowfall from Ohio through the Northeast, the jet stream is just not dipping far enough south to allow the cold air to filter through the Florida Peninsula, Fisher said.

Just two strong cold fronts have hit South Florida this season — one in October and during the second week of December.

A more west-to-east jet stream without big undulations is characteristic of the current La Niña weather pattern.