A weather forecast for the Christmas period in Miami has predicted cold temperatures in the next few days – with a sprinkle of falling iguanas.
The projection, by the National Weather Service in Florida, wrote on Twitter that low temperatures will be in the 30-40F range (0 to 4C), meaning “falling iguanas are possible.”
With no further information, the post added: “Keep up with forecast changes and stay warm!”
This news may come as a surprise for some – but for those in Florida, it is not atypical and occurs most winters.
The lizard is cold-blooded, meaning it gets the majority of its energy from the sun’s warmth.
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January 2020: The National Weather Service in Miami issued a ‘falling iguanas’ alert
As temperatures drop, the creature’s blood cools down, it becomes sluggish and immobile, and eventually loses its grip on tree branches.
The iguanas are typically fine after losing their grip – they slowly defrost and start moving again.
However, if cold temperatures persist for a long period of time, a frozen iguana may die.
The same thing happened earlier in the year, with people sharing posts on Twitter about the iguanas they’d seen on pavements.