For residents of Vero Beach and the wider Treasure Coast, January 28 stands out in history not only as a date of national mourning but as a significant meteorological milestone that has remained unbeaten for decades. According to data from the National Weather Service, the morning of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 still holds the record as the coldest January 28 ever experienced in the region.
The severe cold snap that gripped Florida that morning played a critical and tragic role in the day’s events. The Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew were lost in an explosion just 73 seconds after liftoff. Experts later determined the cause to be an O-ring failure in the right solid rocket booster. The National Weather Service in Melbourne has noted that this mechanical failure was aggravated by the extreme cold weather conditions present prior to the launch.
Locally, the temperatures were historic. The mercury dropped significantly, setting low-temperature records that still stand today.
In 1986, temperatures broke records on the Treasure Coast, reaching a freezing 25 degrees in Vero Beach and 24 degrees in Fort Pierce.
While historical data for Stuart is unavailable because it is not one of the National Weather Service’s seven local climate sites, the surrounding areas provide a clear picture of the deep freeze that occurred.
Below is a breakdown of the record-breaking low temperatures set on January 28, 1986, across the region:
- Vero Beach: 25 degrees (1986)
- Fort Pierce: 24 degrees (1986)
- Melbourne: 26 degrees (1986)
- Sanford: 24 degrees (1986)
- Leesburg: 23 degrees (1986)
Other areas in Florida also hold records for this date, though some were set in different years. For example, Daytona Beach reached a low of 20 degrees in 1940, and Orlando recorded 24 degrees in 1905. However, for Vero Beach and Indian River County, the chill of 1986 remains the benchmark for this date in history.
