Tampa Just Broke a 133-Year Cold Record — Is Your Heating System Ready?

Most Tampa Bay homeowners don’t spend much time thinking about their heating system. It’s Florida — how cold can it really get? Pretty cold, it turns out.

On November 11, 2025, Tampa recorded a low of 39°F, breaking a record that had stood since 1892. St. Petersburg broke its own record set in 1956. Wind chill values dropped into the 20s and 30s across the bay area, catching many residents and their HVAC systems off guard.

If your heat pump struggled to keep up — or you discovered it wasn’t working at all — you’re not alone. Here’s what happened and what to do next.

What Just Happened

The November 2025 cold snap was driven by an unusually strong early-season cold front that pushed arctic air much further south than typical. For Tampa, 39°F in mid-November is genuinely historic — the kind of event that happens maybe once in a generation.

What made it particularly jarring was the speed of the temperature drop. Highs were in the low 70s just days before. Many homeowners hadn’t switched their systems over to heating mode, and some hadn’t run their heat in a year or more. That’s when deferred maintenance problems become urgent ones.

Why Florida Homes Struggle in Cold Snaps

Florida homes are designed and built for cooling. The construction priorities — large windows for light, minimal insulation compared to northern climates, slab foundations — work against you in a cold snap.

Common cold-weather vulnerabilities in Tampa Bay homes:

• Undersized or undertested heat pumps that haven’t run since the previous winter
• Little to no attic insulation compared to cold-climate building standards
• Air leaks around windows, doors, and ductwork that are tolerable in summer but a real problem in cold
• Heat strips that are expensive to run and may not be sufficient alone in extreme cold

Heat pumps also lose efficiency as outdoor temperatures drop. Below about 40°F, many standard heat pumps struggle to extract enough heat from the outdoor air, and the backup heat strips kick in — which can cause a significant spike in your electricity bill.

Emergency Heating Troubleshooting

If your heating system didn’t perform during the cold snap, run through these basics before calling for service:

Check first:

• Is the thermostat set to HEAT (not COOL or AUTO)?
• Is the target temperature set higher than the current indoor temperature?
• Is your air filter clogged? A blocked filter is the single most common cause of heating failure.
• Is there ice on the outdoor unit? Some frost is normal; a solid ice block is not.

If none of these resolve the problem, don’t force the system to keep running. A heat pump with a frozen coil or a failing reversing valve can sustain serious damage if run in a failed state.

Preparing for the Rest of Winter

The record cold snap may have been the first, but Tampa Bay winters do occasionally deliver more cold fronts through February. This is a good time to take a few simple steps:

• Schedule a heating tune-up if you haven’t had one this season — technicians will check refrigerant levels, electrical connections, and reversing valve operation
• Replace your air filter if it hasn’t been changed in the last 1–3 months
• Seal obvious air leaks around exterior doors and windows with weatherstripping or caulk
• Test your emergency heat setting so you know it works before you need it

When to Call a Pro

If your system ran all night but your home still couldn’t get above 65°F, that’s a performance issue worth investigating — not just a Florida-homes-are-drafty problem. Heat pumps should be able to maintain comfortable temperatures in all but the most extreme cold conditions.

Common heating problems that need professional attention include refrigerant leaks, a failed reversing valve, faulty auxiliary heat strips, and control board issues. These aren’t DIY repairs.

Don’t wait for the next cold front to find out your system still isn’t right. Schedule a heating service call with Bart DePury Air Conditioning — we’ve been keeping Tampa Bay families comfortable through every season since 1982, including the ones that surprise everyone.