Posted on 01/09/2010 6:38:57 PM PST by justa-hairyape
Florida orange growers are bracing for possible crop damage as an arctic blast plunges temperatures to record lows Saturday and Sunday nights.
Sleet and snow mixed with rain has been reported Saturday from the Tampa Bay area to near and north of Orlando, the first time snow or sleet has occurred in west-central Florida since Jan. 8, 1996, the National Weather Service in Tampa said.
The immediate Tampa Bay area hasn't seen snow since Dec. 23, 1989.
While citrus growers fared well on Friday night as temperatures remained above critical levels in the heart of the citrus belt, worries are intensifying as a strong high pressure system bears down on the area.
The NWS has issued a freeze warning for much of central and southern Florida from 9 p.m. EST Saturday to 9 a.m. EST on Sunday, meaning temperatures are expected to dip from 27 F to 32 F for three or more hours over a widespread area.
Citrus sustains damage when the mercury falls below 28 degrees Fahrenheit for three or more hours.
"We will undoubtedly suffer some damage to this season's crop tomorrow [Sunday] a.m. and again on Monday a.m.," said Fran Becker, president of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual and vice president of fruit procurement for Peace River Citrus Products Inc. in Arcadia, Fla.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I try to put them someplace where the sun might strike them and hope for the best. But they are literally falling off of the trees and fences here. We’ve had cold nights and mornings before, but never (in the last 10 years, at least) days this cold and with such sustained cold.
That’s okay, Al Baby has probably got his thermostat set to 90. And lizards don’t vote anyway.
We’re slightly colder than normal here in Philly, but it isn’t anything to write home about (normal high is 38). I’ve seen much worse here. What amazes me is that parts of Florida are experiencing highs that are below our normal high.
I agree. It's tough to watch.
I have a pair of herons who stay near my pond here in NC year-round. Our low temps have been in the mid-teens several days running. Two or three days of lows like that per year is normal -- but six or seven nights in a row is something I've never seen. The herons can survive the cold -- I think -- but I'm afraid they may starve, as the fish have gone to the bottom of the pond, out of the herons' reach.
Amtrak train traffic between Chicago and Denver through Nebraska continues to be disrupted by drifting snow, especially between Hastings and Holdrege.
"There are heavy drifts as tall as the train," said spokesman Marc Magliari of Amtrak's Chicago office.
"When we go through areas where there's a cut through a hill and it fills with snow, a train is not going to punch through that."
Very interesting! I will say I wouldn’t miss the iguana, a major drug-dealer pet, but it’s disturbing that this cold weather has affected fish and other genuinely “wild” wildlife.
I have retreated to my attic, which is where all the heat goes in my poorly insulated Florida house. Fortunately, my PC is up here with me.
Take a pillow case... fill it with frozen oranges... then wait for Al Bore to walk off his Lear.
The cold weather is expected to continue into next week, at least here in Florida. It’s the length of this stretch of cold that is the problem, in addition to the fact that the sun seems to have no effect on it and doesn’t warm things up at all during the day, so there’s no time to recover before night falls.
Very strange. An older lady was telling me that it hasn’t been like this in North Florida since about 1950.
Was in the same boat earlier this season when So Cal was cold. Live in an industrial loft within my business. No central heat. Been building an Igloo in the loft made out of thick Polyurethane insulation sheets. Now have two space heaters. Just bought a small Halogen shop light for the office ($16 at Lowes). Gives off good light and also excess heat. So Cal has been warm the past few weeks due to the High Pressure Blocking factors that are now freezing Florida.
Do you happen to know why they would wait so late in the season to harvest corn?
I got 31..on the water in S. Tampa. No wind and dropping.
The fish are starting to float up in Tampa Bay..Snook and Grouper, big ones. They are laying belly up and barely moving.
Ya gotta figure if ALgore says we are gonna fry. A New Ice Age. God is not happy with Algore.
I think it was because of the heavy rains. Cannot harvest when it is raining. The mud messes up the harvesters, but I am not a corn farmer.
Resourcefulness! I’m huddling next to my desk lamp right now. It’s also amazing how much heat a monitor gives off.
Should clarify that. The humidity metric that is reported for various locations, really does not seem to apply to coastal areas. The humidity here can feel very thick, but I think that is not the proper metric to use. Perhaps water vapor density would be better ? Any meteorologists want to clarify ?
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