During the cold winter of 2010, Florida’s revered American alligator and the much-maligned invasive Burmese python were struck down by a double whammy of harsh Arctic air.
University of Florida researchers documented the deaths of 151 dead alligators and nearly 40 Burmese pythons, whose deaths may have been directly related to the sting of glacial temperatures that flowed into the Everglades in January of that year and continued ever since.
One expert says it’s unlikely that the upcoming cold snap expected to hit Florida starting Friday, Jan. 30, will result in a similar death toll — for better or for worse — because the cold winds are expected to be shorter-lived and mostly sunny weather is expected.
But invasive green iguanas may permanently succumb to the cold, especially in their northern areas.
A researcher in Southwest Florida says he expects to see some pythons die because the cold turns the tables on the apex predators, weakening them and making them easier to prey on.
“I would be surprised if we didn’t record some snake deaths after this event,” said Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist and science program manager for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. “It’s not that they will die directly from the cold, but it may allow native predators to attack them.”
Bartozek, who is tracking 40 tagged pythons using radio telemetry, said a near-freezing spell a few years ago is believed to have weakened a 50-pound snake so weak that a bobcat was able to kill it and eat it as a meal. There is also evidence that a bear ate a python while in a cold-crippling state.
Regarding some of the python deaths, Bartoszek said: “The potential is there.”
Florida cold weather kills Burmese python in 2010
Meteorologists warn that the coming cold weather will be the most extreme since 2010.
That January, the country’s eastern region was trapped behind a high-pressure blockade over Greenland and affected by the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation. This combination forces the jet stream deep into the equator, allowing a stream of cold air to penetrate southward.
The historic cold snap began in South Florida on New Year’s Eve, with an Arctic front leaving behind snow and ice as it hurtled toward the Caribbean Sea. In the predawn darkness of January 9, a second blast swept across the frozen ground paved by the first blast and devastated South Florida.
According to the National Weather Service, the 12-day average temperature in Miami from January 2 to 13 was 52.7 degrees. This ranks it at number 10th The 12 coldest days on record were also the coldest period since 1940.
Overnight temperatures in Miami and Fort Lauderdale dropped into the 30s for three nights in a row. Between January 2 and 13, West Palm Beach experienced nine nights of the 1930s.
In the heart of South Florida’s sawgrass and cypress swamps, some areas measured temperatures in the 20s.
“Everglades National Park has ice,” said Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida.
Mazzotti, who manages Croc Docs at the University of Florida, published a study in 2011 on the previous year’s cold snap and its impact on pythons in South Florida. A few years later, he published another paper that included how American crocodiles, alligators and native snakes survived the same prolonged cold.
Biscayne National Park is one of the few places in the country where it is possible to see an American alligator. National Park Service Photos
He said that 2010 was a rare year when parts of inland South Florida experienced severe freezes and temperatures dropped below 28 degrees. Additionally, the severe freeze was preceded by a series of unusually cold and cloudy days. Pythons and American crocodiles bask in the sun to stay warm.
“So, the animals didn’t have a chance to warm up that week,” Mazzotti said. “They’re already freezing when they go into freezing cold places.”
No alligators or native snakes were found dead as a result of the 2010 cold snap. Mazzotti said that unlike American crocodiles, alligators retreat to warmer, deeper waters when temperatures drop. Even if the alligator’s snout is above the water, the rest of the alligator’s body floats underwater at temperatures warmer than the air.
Iguanas also rely on basking in the sun to stay warm, so extended periods of cold and cloudy weather can be a death sentence for them, too.
How cold will it be in Florida this weekend?
Weather patterns similar to those in 2010 have led to the current cold snap.
Temperatures near freezing to below freezing are possible across a large swath of South Florida Saturday night into Sunday, Jan. 31, the National Weather Service in Miami said. Wind chills below Lake Okeechobee and along the typically warm Atlantic coast will be in the upper to lower twenties.
The situation is expected to be repeated Monday morning.
Temperatures are starting to warm in Miami by Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-60s and sunny skies.
“Occasionally an animal may die from the cold, but I don’t anticipate any kind of mass mortality,” Mazzotti said, noting that while pythons can generate a small amount of heat by shivering, the practice is usually only used to heat a clutch of eggs.
Bartozek said pythons in the southwestern part of the state have an extra advantage in cold weather because the area has natural burrows and gopher tortoise burrows where pythons can take shelter in cold weather.
A photo of a Burmese python leaving a gopher tortoise’s burrow in Southwest Florida.
“We have temperature loggers on the surface and inside the cave. It could be icy on the surface and at the bottom of the cave, and it’s 66 degrees,” he said.
Not all pythons appear to have the survival skills to seek shelter, or are located in areas where they can find burrows to coexist temporarily. But gopher tortoises and burrowing armadillos live in the northern part of the state and the southern United States, Bartozek said.
Theoretically, a presence there might predispose pythons to seek shelter, thereby expanding their range north.
“They are literally creatures that are comfortable in underground burrows,” Bartoszek said. “Most of the male snakes we tracked last week were underground or very close to one of their burrows.”
Kimberly Miller is a Florida reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She covers weather, environment and biology as a reporter for Embrace Florida. If you have a news tip, send it to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content straight to your inbox every weekday by signing up for the free Florida TODAY newsletter at: https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared in The Palm Beach Post: Will Florida’s weekend cold front kill invasive Burmese pythons?
