This cold-stunned sea turtle is one of 100 brought to the University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab in St. Augustine, Florida, amid frigid weather from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26, 2025.
(UF Turtle Hospital via Facebook.)
Cold-stunned sea turtles can become lethargic and unable to swim.
It can happen when water temperatures drop into the low 50s.
Dozens were rescued amid a winter storm and cold that hit Florida.
People weren’t the only ones feeling the chill during a recent winter storm that froze parts of the Sunshine State.
Dozens of cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued after temperatures plunged.
An ‘exhausting and relentless’ five days:
In one case, two officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, rushed to pull 30 turtles from the waters around Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle.
In another, the University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory received 100 patients from Jan. 22 through Jan. 26. The facility is located in St. Augustine, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
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“Our hospital shifted into full emergency mode to triage cold-stunned green sea turtles,” a social media post from the lab read, calling the mission “exhausting and relentless.”
Each morning, FWC personnel arrived to take the turtles to other facilities in order to make room for more.
The lab noted the uptick in rescues was expected based on the weather forecast.
Cold water is dangerous for sea turtles:
Winter Storm Enzo brought frigid air into the Southeast, causing the northern Gulf Coast of Florida to reach lows well below freezing. When the water temperatures drop even as low as the 50s, sea turtles are susceptible to becoming “cold-stunned,” weather.com digital meteorologist Sara Tonks, who also holds a masters in marine science, said Wednesday.
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When that happens, they can become lethargic and unable to swim.
“When a turtle becomes cold-stunned, the most important thing is to get the turtle out of the cold water as quickly as possible,” Tonks said. “Rescue teams have to act fast to get as many turtles into controlled environments so that they can be safely warmed back up.”
The turtles rescued following Winter Storm Enzo were taken to facilities where trained sea turtle veterinarians can take care of them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild.
Winter Storm Enzo was historic for Florida:
The state’s all-time 24-hour snowfall record was shattered when more than 9 inches of snow was measured on Jan. 22 in the Florida Panhandle town of Milton. The previous record was 4 inches set in 1954 in the same area.
Beaches were covered in snow, as was Interstate 10, the main east-west corridor across North Florida.
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Nearly half of the state’s 67 school districts were shut down for at least one day because of the storm. Some were closed for the entire week.
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Weather.com staff writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
Lissette Gonzalez has served as the morning and noon meteorologist for CBS4 News since 2007. Viewers can watch Lissette’s weathercasts weekday mornings from 5 to 9 a.m. and again at noon.
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/ CBS Miami
It was another chilly morning with temperatures mostly in the mid- to upper 50s across South Florida.
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The breeze will build today out of the northeast at 15 to 20 mph, but gusts could reach 25 to 30 mph.
As the winds begin to shift more off the ocean, temperatures will creep up to the low to mid 70s today.
The forecast high temperatures in South Florida over the next seven days.
CBS News Miami
A pleasant and mostly sunny afternoon ahead but an isolated shower can’t be ruled out due to the onshore breeze.
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The gusty breeze is leading to hazardous beach and boating conditions.
The beach forecast in South Florida on Jan. 20, 2026.
CBS News Miami
There is a dangerous high risk of rip currents along the Atlantic beaches through Thursday evening and it will not be safe to go swimming in the ocean.
A small craft advisory is in effect for the Atlantic waters and the Keys through Wednesday evening due to rough conditions and gusty winds.
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The boating forecast in South Florida on Jan. 20, 2026.
CBS News Miami
Lows will fall to the mid to upper 60s Wednesday morning.
The average low in Miami is 61 degrees.
It will be milder and still breezy in the afternoon with highs in the mid 70s.
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The forecast low temperatures in South Florida over the next seven days.
CBS News Miami
A few showers will be possible on the breeze.
The warming trend continues late week as lows will be climb to near 70 degrees and highs will rise to the upper 70s on Thursday and Friday.
The chance of rain will be a little higher with the potential for spotty showers.
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Even warmer this weekend with lows in the low 70s and highs in the low 80s Saturday and Sunday.
The forecast in South Florida over the next seven days.
As the transfer portal closes for the Florida Gators, expectations are shifting under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall. (Gators Breakdown)
As the transfer portal closes for the Florida Gators, expectations are shifting under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall. David Waters discusses the Florida Gators 2026 season expectations with Gators Breakdown Plus members following significant transfer portal activity. Plus, analysis of On3’s way-too-early college football top 25 rankings for 2026, which surprisingly includes the Florida Gators under Jon Sumrall’s first season as head coach.
This story originally published at GatorsBreakdown.com
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A Florida man is accused of shooting and killing three tourists stranded at a rental home on Saturday in what a sheriff described as a “horrific and senseless” act of violence.
Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, was arrested in connection with the murders of three men who were staying at a property next door to his home in Kissimmee, Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon told reporters Sunday.
“It was cold-blooded, it was premeditated, there was absolutely no issues,” Blackmon said. “There was no conflict between these people. This was just random. And this happened to be the person who lived next door.”
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Deputies responded around 12:13 p.m. Saturday to a shooting at a subdivision near Kissimmee and discovered the bodies of three adult males in front of the rental home. All three men suffered apparent gunshot wounds.
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Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on three counts of premeditated murder.(Osceola County Jail)
Blackmon said the three victims were stuck at the rental home after having vehicle trouble and had extended their stay for one day to wait for service.
Two of the victims have been identified as Robert Luis Kraft, 69, of Holland, Michigan, and his brother Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio, the sheriff said. The third victim was identified as James Puchan, 68, a friend from Ohio, FOX35 Orlando reported.
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Blackmon said the shooting was “cold-blooded” and random.(FOX35 Orlando WOFL )
Deputies found Bojeh inside his home next door about an hour later, the sheriff said. Bojeh was arrested on three counts of premeditated murder and one count of resisting arrest without violence, according to online jail records.
Bojeh lived at a home next door to the rental where the victims were murdered, authorities said.(FOX35 Orlando WOFL )
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Blackmon described Bojeh as a “frequent flier to the sheriff’s office.”
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“I can tell you he was a threat to that neighborhood all the time,” Blackmon said.
Bojeh was arrested in connection with a previous shooting incident in 2021, but was later “acquitted by reason of insanity,” according to court records obtained by WKMG-TV.(Osceola County Sheriff’s Office)
Bojeh was arrested in 2021 after being accused of shooting at a person and random cars in a Kissimmee gas station parking lot, though court records show he was later “acquitted by reason of insanity,” according to court records obtained by WKMG-TV.
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Bojeh was booked into the Osceola County Jail for the alleged triple murder and was held without bond.
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The sheriff said the murder investigation is ongoing.
