3 To Know: Hurricane Irma debris removal ends Friday

Marco Eagle

1. Hurricane Irma debris removal ends Friday

Friday, Dec. 15 will be the last day for residents to place storm-related debris on the county right-of-way in front of their homes for collection.

Storm-related yard waste must be kept separate from other items placed out for collection. Debris crews will not collect light, small piles of yard debris (twigs, leaves, pine cones, etc.) left behind from the first pass. Light, small piles should be placed in conforming paper bags or in 45-gallon personal containers and placed curbside on regular scheduled yard waste collection day.

After Dec.15, residents must prepare yard waste as they normally would for curbside collection. For those residents who wish to self-haul yard debris after Dec. 15, the temporary residential drop-off locations will remain open through Dec. 22.

Call 239-252-2380 with questions or concerns.

2. Cold front could bring record lows to Southwest Florida

It's time to get out the thick sweaters and maybe even a hoodie because it's about to get cold in Southwest Florida.

A low pressure front from the mainland United States will soon move across the Gulf of Mexico and bring near-record low temperatures here.

Rain is expected on Friday.

"Behind the front, Saturday it will begin to clear up and by Sunday we’re expecting those clear, sunny conditions with highs in Naples in the upper 60s," said Larry Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami. "It will still be fairly cool behind the front as well. But the coldest temperatures will be early Sunday morning and early Monday morning."

The all-time low for a Dec. 9 is 42 degrees, set multiple times but most recently in 1984.

NWS is calling for a low of 44 degrees, which is just a few degrees shy of the record. Although temperatures will near record lows, there's nothing abnormal or strange about the system.

3. Hunter captures monster python in Florida Everglades

A monster Burmese python has been captured by a snake hunter in the Florida Everglades.

Python hunter Jason Leon set a record for the longest snake caught as part of SFWMD's Python Elimination Program with this 17-foot-1-inch Burmese python that he brought to the District's Homestead Field Station on Dec. 4. Leon's catch tops the previous high mark for the program of 16 feet, 11 inches established by Dusty "Wildman" Crum last month. Leon also holds the state record with an 18-foot-8-inch python he caught in 2013.

The female snake caught Friday at the Big Cypress National Preserve measured just over 17 feet (5 meters) long and weighed 132 pounds (59 kilograms).

The snake was captured by a hunter participating in the South Florida Water Management District's python elimination program and beats the hunt's previous record length by 2 inches (5 centimeters).

Snake hunter Jason Leon tells the Miami Herald he spotted the snake in submerged in the water and quickly grabbed it and shot it in the head. He said a smaller male python was nearby but not captured.

So far this year, hunters have captured 738 of the invasive snakes, which have become the top predator in the Everglades.