Forget raining cats and dogs: Miami forecasters warn of falling iguanas amid cold snap

MIAMI (KOMO) -- Walking around South Florida Tuesday night may provide residents with a couple of surprises: Winter-like temperatures, and falling iguanas?

Amid a winter cold snap -- especially by Florida standards -- the National Weather Service office in Miami actually tweeted a literal heads-up for falling iguanas.

"Iguanas are cold blooded," the forecasters wrote, briefly wading into the world of zoology from meteorology. "They slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s."

Sure enough, forecasted lows in South Beach were around the mid 40s, while Palm Beach could drop to 40 and the Gulf Coast areas might even dip into the 30s!

And perhaps even more surprising than a falling iguana: An actual Wind Chill Advisory in effect for the Miami area! With gusty winds, wind chills are expected to range from the mid 20s to mid 30s. It's the first such advisory for Miami in nearly seven years. The normal lows this time of year are around 60.

But while residents might faint from the unexpected chill, the iguanas will be OK.

"They may fall from trees, but they are not dead," NWS Miami reassured.

Shocked? Surprised? That's another matter.