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Florida Orange Growers Brace for Possible Killing Freeze
The Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 9, 2010, 3:28 P.M. ET | Tom Sellen

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 ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: agriculture; citrus; fl2010; globalcooling; iceage; orange; winter
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To: justa-hairyape
As Anita Bryant used to say, "a day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine." Since orange juice futures have doubled in the past year -- and with the uptrend accelerating with the Florida freeze -- some may be tempted to skip their daily dose of sunshine.


21 posted on 01/09/2010 7:09:30 PM PST by southernnorthcarolina (Now with ConstructionCam! Click on my name and follow the progress.)
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To: justa-hairyape
Remarkable Low Temperatures in Several Locations in Cuba
22 posted on 01/09/2010 7:09:58 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape
Temps on image are in Celcius.

The mini ice age starts here

23 posted on 01/09/2010 7:13:48 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: steve86

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.


24 posted on 01/09/2010 7:15:17 PM PST by livius
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To: justa-hairyape

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.


25 posted on 01/09/2010 7:19:13 PM PST by Windcatcher (Obama is a COMMUNIST and the MSM is his armband-wearing propaganda machine.)
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To: livius
Our poor little lizards are dying - that may sound silly, but they’re typical of this place, and seeing them frozen on the ground is very upsetting. I’d rather see Al Gore frozen into a block of ice somewhere soon.

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.

26 posted on 01/09/2010 7:20:08 PM PST by southernnorthcarolina (Now with ConstructionCam! Click on my name and follow the progress.)
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To: justa-hairyape
Amtrak trains disrupted by Nebraska snow drifts

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."

27 posted on 01/09/2010 7:20:35 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape

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.


28 posted on 01/09/2010 7:22:19 PM PST by livius
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To: justa-hairyape

Take a pillow case... fill it with frozen oranges... then wait for Al Bore to walk off his Lear.


29 posted on 01/09/2010 7:23:07 PM PST by 3boysdad (Valhalla I am comming)
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To: justa-hairyape
Corn Lost To Snow Could Amount To 100 Million Bushels
30 posted on 01/09/2010 7:24:29 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: southernnorthcarolina

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.


31 posted on 01/09/2010 7:28:01 PM PST by livius
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To: livius

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.


32 posted on 01/09/2010 7:30:25 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape

Do you happen to know why they would wait so late in the season to harvest corn?


33 posted on 01/09/2010 7:31:22 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
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To: justa-hairyape

I got 31..on the water in S. Tampa. No wind and dropping.


34 posted on 01/09/2010 7:32:25 PM PST by screaminsunshine (!!three if by government)
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To: justa-hairyape

The fish are starting to float up in Tampa Bay..Snook and Grouper, big ones. They are laying belly up and barely moving.


35 posted on 01/09/2010 7:35:06 PM PST by screaminsunshine (!!three if by government)
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To: livius
What people in the upper Midwest do not realize, is when it gets cold down here near the tropics, it can feel real cold due to the humidity. Very dense air. For example - Ocala Florida now reporting 15.8 F with 86 % humidity. That will suck the heat out of you in no time.

Ocala

36 posted on 01/09/2010 7:36:49 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape

Ya gotta figure if ALgore says we are gonna fry. A New Ice Age. God is not happy with Algore.


37 posted on 01/09/2010 7:37:00 PM PST by screaminsunshine (!!three if by government)
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To: Vince Ferrer

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.


38 posted on 01/09/2010 7:38:26 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape

Resourcefulness! I’m huddling next to my desk lamp right now. It’s also amazing how much heat a monitor gives off.


39 posted on 01/09/2010 7:41:23 PM PST by livius
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To: justa-hairyape

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 ?


40 posted on 01/09/2010 7:44:11 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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