Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

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
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-105 next last
To: potlatch

.

Anchorage Alaska is warmer than Ocala Florida right now!

It’s Global Confusion!


61 posted on 01/09/2010 8:40:43 PM PST by devolve ( . . . . . . . . . woodpile alert - "My muslim faith....." - "Kobe" Osama . . . . . . . . . . . .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: varina davis
Thanks Varina. I guess you have to experience both to know it's true. Many won't believe it.

I see that it's going to be 20* down near Brownsville, Tex. They will lose their citrus too. My daughter brought a large bag of grapefruit when she came for Christmas.

The nurseries are going to make a killing come the spring, lol, all the garden plants are dead.

62 posted on 01/09/2010 8:42:23 PM PST by potlatch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: justa-hairyape

The ice fog we’ve had here on and off is basically the same situation, but with saturated humidity. But severe wind chill is even worse. At least when it’s foggy it isn’t windy.


63 posted on 01/09/2010 8:42:39 PM PST by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: devolve

Don’t know what it is in Oscala but the Texas valley is supposed to get down to 20*. Tracy brought me grapefruit at Christmas time.


64 posted on 01/09/2010 8:45:54 PM PST by potlatch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: devolve
"Anchorage Alaska is warmer than Ocala Florida right now!"

This is indeed a Special Day(tm), and should be remembered for posterity. We can call it Kick a Global Warmer(tm) in the Nuts Day.
65 posted on 01/09/2010 8:53:51 PM PST by Windcatcher (Obama is a COMMUNIST and the MSM is his armband-wearing propaganda machine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: potlatch

I’ve been in Florida more than 30 years (from Indiana), and I cannot recall a colder and more prolonged cold spell as this one. Really incredible. I can hardly type my hands are so cold! I’m glad I picked all my lemons last week and froze the juice or they would not have made it through this mess. My oranges are a loss, as are the calamondins.


66 posted on 01/09/2010 8:54:46 PM PST by varina davis (Life is not a dress rehearsal)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: potlatch

.

Ocala Florida - well North

Not far from Gainesville FL

The Brahma Restaurant is still there

-

Grapefruit will be freezing everywhere


67 posted on 01/09/2010 9:00:04 PM PST by devolve ( . . . . . . . . . woodpile alert - "My muslim faith....." - "Kobe" Osama . . . . . . . . . . . .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: steve86
Thanks for the advice. Aware of the fire hazards. Use one small ceramic space heater in the igloo. On a wide pedestal with nothing near it. Turns off if it falls over. Aimed toward my feet on the bed, not the insulation. Igloo area is over 10 feet long and about 8 feet wide. Did not need the heater last night. Don't like to breath cold air while sleeping. So extra blankets wont help. The shop has an indoor very old gas heater that is just not efficient enough. Gas bills were way too high.
68 posted on 01/09/2010 9:00:40 PM PST by justa-hairyape
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: varina davis
[I cannot recall a colder and more prolonged cold spell as this one.]

I'm bundled up here in South Central Texas too! Heat running constantly and I even have a tower heater near me that I use off and on, lol. We aren't used to this.

I'm sorry about your plant loss and know how you feel. We've had lots of rain and little sunshine. Gets depressing. Maybe the rain helped protect some plant roots from freezing.

69 posted on 01/09/2010 9:00:48 PM PST by potlatch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: devolve

OK
Well, keep up on your Florida news.


70 posted on 01/09/2010 9:05:27 PM PST by potlatch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: devolve
There are two readings coming out of Ocala Florida. See link in post 36. The main one I linked is the coldest reading on the WeatherUnderground site for Florida. It is called Silver Spring Shore Ocala. Elevation is 0 feet. So I am assuming that is right on the coast. Current reading there is 14.5 F. There is also a Ocala Airport reading (further down the page) that has the current temp at 25 F. Elevation there is 89 feet. So I am assuming that it is further inland. That Silver Springs Ocala reading is about 10 F lower then the lowest lows found in other areas of Florida. At any rate, the all time low for Florida is -2 F. We may make a run at that tomorrow night when the clouds are gone.
71 posted on 01/09/2010 9:10:31 PM PST by justa-hairyape
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

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.

That sucks...I like lizards...Got them eating meal worms right outa my hand in Cal. ... Good luck.

72 posted on 01/09/2010 9:12:04 PM PST by dragnet2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: steve86

Maybe that is the key, saturated humidity. Perhaps the humidity metric only works up to a certain point 100 %, but you can still get more humid dense air (over saturated) near the ocean coasts ?


73 posted on 01/09/2010 9:13:27 PM PST by justa-hairyape
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: devolve
You guys crack me up with your debate over a dry versus humid cold. What matters is the wind chill.


74 posted on 01/09/2010 9:25:05 PM PST by 3boysdad (Valhalla I am comming)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: justa-hairyape

W. Broward here and it’s really cold. I just turn on the gas oven once in a while to keep the house above 70. And I’m not used to wearing long pants this many days in a row!


75 posted on 01/09/2010 9:27:03 PM PST by bicyclerepair (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: potlatch; 3boysdad

.

Grandfather Mountain NC gets some windchill factor at times


76 posted on 01/09/2010 9:29:46 PM PST by devolve ( . . . . . . . . . woodpile alert - "My muslim faith....." - "Kobe" Osama . . . . . . . . . . . .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: 3boysdad

Wind chill calculations actually do take humidity into account in some countries. A damp wind blowing off the ocean feels physically colder than a dry wind with a considerably lower temperature. The reason is evaporation on the skin, which is very similar to the body’s own mechanism for cooling down when hot ... sweat.

I’ll take zero in the Colorado Rockies over 20 on the coast of Maine any day, as far as one being more comfortable than the other.


77 posted on 01/09/2010 9:32:07 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: devolve

If I’m not mistaken, they’ve recorded temps of -30 or even lower there, too.


78 posted on 01/09/2010 9:33:23 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: 3boysdad
What matters is the wind chill.

Yes. That is important when you are outside, but when you are a retired person inside your Florida home with no central heating, wind chill is not important. What really matters is the density of the cold air sneaking into your home.

79 posted on 01/09/2010 9:34:22 PM PST by justa-hairyape
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: omega4179

IIRC, freezes in Florida were more common forty years ago.


80 posted on 01/09/2010 9:45:06 PM PST by Aroostook25
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-105 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson