As temperatures plunged across Florida this week, residents woke to a now familiar but still startling sight: iguanas lying motionless on sidewalks, cars and patios after tumbling from tree branches. The spectacle is a direct result of a sharp cold snap colliding with an exploding population of invasive lizards that have made the state’s warm suburbs and canals their home. What looks like a bizarre winter storm of reptiles is, in reality, a warning about how fragile Florida’s ecosystems have become.
The animals are not dropping from the sky, of course, but losing their grip as their cold-blooded bodies shut down in the chill. I see this moment as a collision of physics, climate and policy, where a quirky viral phenomenon exposes deeper questions about how Florida manages nonnative wildlife and prepares for more weather extremes.
Cold-stunned iguanas and a rare Florida chill
The immediate trigger for the lizard “rain” is a rare stretch of near-freezing temperatures sweeping across Florida, particularly in South Florida where winter nights usually stay comfortably above 50 degrees. As the air dipped into the 30s, the cold-blooded reptiles could no longer generate enough internal heat to keep their muscles working, a process that left them rigid, stunned and unable to cling to branches. Videos circulating from Feb show iguanas falling from trees in Florida as the Cold air settled in, turning backyards into makeshift reptile graveyards.
In South Florida, this kind of deep chill is unusual enough that it has become a recurring social media event, with one clip noting that a rare cold snap sent temperatures plunging into the 30s and drawing at least 412 likes and comments as people tried to make sense of the scene. The reptiles’ winter vulnerability is not unique to this species, since many lizards are ectotherms that depend on external warmth, but the sheer visibility of large iguanas dropping from palm trees has made the phenomenon a distinctive part of Florida winters. As near-freezing air spread across South Florida, observers documented how the animals, adapted to tropical warmth, simply shut down in place, a pattern echoed in reports from the that highlighted how quickly the cold overwhelmed them.
What “cold stunned” really means for the lizards
When I talk to biologists about this, they stress that most of the iguanas people see on the ground are not dead but “cold stunned,” a reversible shutdown that looks more dramatic than it is. In video from earlier this week, cameras captured the reptiles lying on lawns and sidewalks, eyes open but bodies immobile, as a rare cold snap across Florida left thousands of iguanas in a kind of suspended animation. The animals’ hearts keep beating, but their muscles lock up, so they cannot move or even hold on to branches, which is why so many end up sprawled under trees after the temperature plunge described in one widely shared Watch clip from Florida.
The basic biology is the same principle that governs other reptiles, including Marine iguanas in the Galápagos, which also rely on external heat to function. Educational material on those Marine iguanas notes that they are a classic example of a Heat Seeking Lizard Marine species that cannot control their body temperatures and must bask to warm up, a trait summed up in the line “Then they ( Marine iguanas ) sneeze it out” when describing how They deal with excess salt as ectotherms. That same ectotherm physiology, explained in detail as a cold‑blooded animal adaptation in Darwin-era lessons, is what leaves Florida’s iguanas helpless when a cold front lingers overnight.
Invasive Green Iguanas and a booming population
The spectacle would be less consequential if these were rare native animals, but Florida’s problem is that Green Iguanas have become one of the state’s most visible invasive species. According to the state’s own profiles, the Green Iguana is not native to Florida and is listed under a specific Regulatory Status because of its ecological and infrastructure impacts, with juveniles typically showing a bright Green coloration that makes them easy to spot along canals and seawalls. Wildlife officials describe how the lizards burrow into levees, chew through landscaping and compete with native species, a pattern detailed in the Florida guidance on their spread.
That spread is why the current cold snap is producing such dramatic scenes. With populations now established across much of South Florida, from suburban neighborhoods to golf courses, even a short burst of Arctic air can send hundreds or thousands of iguanas tumbling from trees in a single night. Local coverage of the cold weather has emphasized that as temperatures dropped across South Florida, invasive Green Iguanas were left cold-stunned, immobilized and falling from branches in large numbers, a pattern that experts say reflects how entrenched the species has become in Florida. One detailed account of the cold snap notes that the falling reptiles are a symptom of a broader population boom, not a sign that the cold will solve the invasion, a point underscored in South Florida reporting that quotes biologists warning against complacency.
Why the cold snap will not fix the iguana problem
It is tempting to see the frozen reptiles as nature’s way of rebalancing Florida’s ecosystems, but the science suggests the impact will be limited. Wildlife managers and pest control operators say that while some iguanas do die in these events, many survive once the sun returns, especially the larger adults that can withstand short cold spells. A detailed analysis of this week’s event described how Iguanas Fell From Trees During Florida Cold Snap and noted that the Numbers Are Staggering, with Government and private pest control services fielding calls from across the state as residents reported yards littered with reptiles. Yet the same account stressed that the die-off is unlikely to dent the overall population, given how quickly the species reproduces and recolonizes, a conclusion laid out in conservation-focused coverage.
Experts I have spoken with frame the cold snap as a stress test rather than a solution, exposing which animals are most vulnerable while leaving the core breeding population intact. One biologist quoted in recent coverage explained that when the temperature drops quickly, the iguanas’ bodies shut down before they can seek shelter, which is why “When that happens, they may lose their grip and fall from the trees. It’s a unique cold-weather hazard in Florida,” as Buckingham put it in a widely shared explanation. That description, captured in Buckingham’s comments, underscores that the hazard is more about falling objects and startled residents than any meaningful reset of the invasive population.
Public safety, pets and what residents should do
For people on the ground, the immediate concern is less ecological theory and more the risk of a five-foot lizard dropping onto a car windshield or backyard deck. Local authorities have warned that Low Florida temperatures could cause falling iguanas as an Arctic blast spreads across the eastern United States, urging residents to be cautious under tree canopies and to keep pets away from stunned animals that might suddenly revive. One advisory noted that the immobilized reptiles can become easy prey for predators like bobcats, a reminder that the cold snap briefly reshuffles the food chain, a point highlighted in January guidance about the risks.
From a practical standpoint, wildlife officials generally advise against trying to “rescue” cold-stunned iguanas, both because they are invasive and because a suddenly warmed, stressed reptile can bite or scratch. Instead, they recommend giving the animals space, securing pets indoors and contacting licensed trappers if a large number of iguanas are creating a hazard on private property. In my view, the surreal sight of lizards raining from trees is a vivid reminder that Florida’s mix of tropical pets, suburban sprawl and increasingly erratic winter weather has created problems that cannot be solved by a single cold night, no matter how dramatic the images from Feb might look on social media or in the latest viral clips.
More from Morning Overview
*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
