Winter in Tampa Bay? This is how Madeira Beach handles warmer than average temperatures in Tampa Bay. Credit: Pixabay

Winter in Tampa Bay? This is how Madeira Beach handles warmer than average temperatures in Tampa Bay. Credit: Pixabay
It's beginning to look a lot like springtime in Tampa Bay. Aside from oak leaves dropping a tad earlier than normal, it feels… well, damn lovely outside.

On average, the air temperature in the Tampa Bay area is holding strong at about 10 degrees hotter than usual, thanks in part to a front. While temps are expected to dip back down this weekend — only into the 60s, don't grab your Uggs just yet — consider this: Weather Underground lists the highest recorded temperature on January 2 at the Albert Whitted weather station in St. Petersburg as 83 degrees, and the National Weather Service lists today's expected high as 81 degrees.

Not a bad day to live in paradise.

Paradise has its privileges other than great weather — there's tons of stuff to do here. Subscribe to Creative Loafing's weekly Do This newsletter and get the best of Tampa Bay delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.

Cathy's portfolio includes pieces for Visit Florida, USA Today and regional and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving...