For the surfing Santas of Florida's central coast, the Atlantic Ocean felt more like the North Pole than the Sunshine State as temperatures plunged to around freezing, while freeze warnings were in place for at least half of the state.
Parts of the Florida Panhandle had wind chills that dipped into the single digits on Saturday morning, and central areas reported temperatures plunging as low as minus 2.7°C.
“It's a frigid start to your #ChristmasEve across the area,” the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, the state's capital, tweeted.
Miami was among the last holdouts of warm weather in the US on Friday, but by Saturday morning, temperatures had dipped to below 10°C for the first time in almost a year.
South Floridians were also on the watch for falling iguanas. The cold-blooded reptiles that reside in Miami suburbs typically become immobilised when temperatures drop below 4.4°C.
Despite the frigid temperatures, the 14th annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas festival was held on Saturday morning at Cocoa Beach on Florida's Space Coast.
The event has grown from 10 surfers dressed in Santa costumes when it started in 2009 to hundreds of participants riding surfboards, boogie boards and paddle boards in years past.
Close to 140 surfers braved the frigid water and about 10,000 spectators showed up to cheer them on, while a beachside restaurant distributed free hot cocoa to help them stay warm, organisers said.
Christmas lights and tours in the US — in pictures
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The Bergdorf Goodman windows in New York give visitors many Instagram moments. AP -
The holiday window displays at Manhattan's department stores attract thousand of visitors every year. AP -
Each of the seven windows at Bergdorf Goodman celebrates a craft including woodcraft, dress-making, paper sculpture, mosaic, papier mache, metal craft and scrapbooking, and tells a story. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
From a mosaic magician surrounded by colourful animals to the monumental wooden birds and 17th Century paper artisans, the windows are a result of 10,000 hours of meticulous work over 10 months. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
The Bergdorf windows are truly works of art. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
The holiday display will remain up until January. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
Visitors travel from all over the world to see the windows. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
Designers featured in this year’s Bergdorf Goodman windows include Aliette, Carolina Herrera, Libertine, Marc Jacobs, Noir Kei Ninomiya, Paco Rabanne, Prabal Gurung, Simone Rocha and Valentino. Photo: Ricky Zehavi -
The Dyker Heights Christmas decorations include most of the homes in a Brooklyn, New York neighbourhood. AFP -
The Christmas lights and decorations in the Dyker Heights neighbourhood of New York City are usually up by Thanksgiving and stay until the New Year. AFP -
The Dyker Heights neighbourhood of New York City Christmas lights tradition goes back to the 1940s. AFP -
Lucy Spata helped to pioneer the tradition with her famous house on 84th Street, where just about every inch of the property is decorated. AFP -
Dyker Heights is a mainly residential neighbourhood in the south-west corner of Brooklyn. AFP -
People from all over come to walk the streets of Dyker Heights to take in the holiday lights. AFP -
Dyker Heights is truly a winter wonderland and it's free. AFP -
This Dyker Heights home is one of the more subtle. AFP -
The residents of the Dyker Heights neighbourhood tend to add something new to their decorations every year. AFP -
Dyker Heights residents leave their decorations up through the new year. AFP -
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Centre in New York City is a photo opportunity for many foreign visitors. AFP -
One New Yorker has 12 festive trees and 13,751 lights surrounding other themed trinkets throughout his one-bedroom apartment, which he decorates each year to spread 'joy and happiness'. AFP -
People inside the 40 Rock building take pictures and look at the tree during the 2022 Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in New York. EPA -
The Christmas tree outside the New York Stock Exchange in Downtown Manhattan. Photo: Anthony Quintano -
A family takes in the holiday window display at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. AP -
The holiday window displays presented by Manhattan's department stores attract thousand of visitors every year and are free. AP -
A bright menorah is featured in the Saks Fifth Avenue display. Photo: Luis Guillen -
A view of the Saks windows from the opposite side of Fifth Avenue in New York. Photo: Luis Guillen -
The lighting display illuminates a good portion of New York's Fifth Avenue. Photo: BFA -
Sir Elton John makes his entry at Saks on a golf cart featuring his signature star glasses. Photo: Michael Blanchard -
Hanukkah's main ritual is the lighting of a menorah, a candelabra with nine candleholders, lit during the eight nights of the holiday. Photo: BFA -
The Saks grand finale featured a fireworks display. Photo: BFA -
The Saks display provides many Instagram moments. Photo: BFA -
Sir Elton and husband David Furnish watch the fireworks display at the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday unveiling. Photo: BFA -
Sir Elton at the Saks unveiling. BFA for Saks / Michael Blanchard -
Glensheen Mansion, perched on the shore of Lake Superior, is the most visited historic home in Minnesota. -
Chester and Clara Congdon built Glensheen between 1905 and 1908 as their home. -
On a self-guided tour, guests will experience the decorated first floor, second floor, and lower level of the Glensheen mansion. -
On a candlelight tour, guests will find themselves in the mansion engulfed by the glow of the Christmas tree lights at night. -
One of the most unique features of Glensheen is that the contents from the original owners remain in the home. -
Every year, the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel turns into one of the most magical Christmas displays in New Orleans. Photo: Roosevelt Hotel -
The Roosevelt began decorating the lobby in the 1930s, becoming more intricate each year. Photo: Roosevelt Hotel -
There’s a gingerbread village illustrating the beloved Louisiana holiday classic “Cajun Night Before Christmas", with alligators replacing Santa’s reindeer. Photo: Roosevelt Hotel -
A Roosevelt Hotel Christmas -
Awinter wonderland of birch branches and Christmas trees, twinkling with more than 60,000 lights. Photo: Roosevelt Hotel -
A child looks at her mother in a light tunnel at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate as part of the trustees' winter lights event in Canton, Massachusetts. AFP -
Families walk the lighted paths around the grounds at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate. AFP -
Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, has been delighting guests with its extravagant holiday decorations since 1893. -
The Hotel Colorado display has grown to include more than half a million lights throughout the exterior, lobby, dining areas, banquet rooms. and more than 60 decorated Christmas trees. -
Each of the five signature suites at the Hotel Colorado features a decorated tree and holiday lighting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
