Another Florida cold snap, another "falling iguana" alert. The National Weather Service in Miami on Monday issued an unofficial warning for possible "falling iguanas" later this week, due to a cold snap that's forecast to chill the Sunshine State by Christmas Day."Brrr!" the Weather Service tweeted. "Much colder temps expected for Christmas. Low temperatures in the 30s/40s and falling iguanas are possible. Keep up with forecast changes and stay warm!"With highs forecast to top out in the low 60s in Miami, it could be the coldest Christmas in South Florida since 1999. Earlier this year, during a cold spell in January, the Weather Service in Florida said that "iguanas are cold blooded. They slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s. They may fall from trees, but they are not dead."Once temperatures reach a certain level, iguanas stiffen up and fall out of trees, according to Chris Michaels, a meteorologist with WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, who said this is something that has been seen over the years in South Florida."At about 50 degrees, iguanas can become lethargic," Michaels said. "It’s when the temperature drops to about 40 degrees or lower that their blood doesn’t move around as quickly. As a result, they can stiffen up and fall out of the trees in which they frequent."During a similar cold snap and iguana "alert" almost three years ago, well-meaning residents finding stiffened iguanas were advised to leave them alone, as they may feel threatened and bite once they warm up.“Don’t assume that they’re dead,” said Kristen Sommers, who oversees the nonnative fish and wildlife program for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,  during the January 2018 cold spell. Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping and digging burrows that undermine infrastructure. They are native to South America, Central America and the Caribbean, and they arrived in South Florida through the pet trade, according to WFLA-TV. For the warm-blooded human residents of South Florida, wind chill temperatures may drop to the 30s across most of the region by Saturday morning, the Weather Service said. Fortunately, as neither the human nor lizard residents of Florida are accustomed to such cold, temperatures should moderate fairly quickly and reach the mid-70s for highs in Miami by Sunday. Contributing: Associated Press


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