Florida Orange Growers Brace for Possible Killing Freeze

The Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 9, 2010, 3:28 P.M. ET | Tom Sellen

[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.

[omega4179]

The groves have been moving south away from I4 the last 10 years so it couldn’t have been that bad 40 ago, but the building boom had something to do with it.

[3boysdad]

I’m sure you do from time to time. Winter happens.

Here’s a little tip from your uncle 3BD...

When you walk 3 feet from you front door and your nostrel hairs freeze on the first inhale (feel like you just scrubbed them with a cordless drill and sandpaper bit) you will know it is below zero without having to consult something. There is a reason only 500,000 people live where I do. It’s like Alaska, but only worse! It can be dry or wet, but your only hope is that the wind doesn’t blow!

Just to give you some more frame of reference, the high here today was 9F. This was quite a change from the 36 below we saw four days ago. 9F is the highest it’s been since then. It was sunny with no wind today. I wore: Wranglers, T-shirt, hoodie, and cowboy boots. I always wear my Twisted-X boots, no matter what the temp. When it gets really cold I wear: fleece lined Wranglers (yeah, they make those, they’re awesome), T-shirt, hoodie, arctic lined Carhart, flet lined leather gloves from Cabella’s, and wool cap that covers the ears - and pull the hoodie over all of it..

Then I turn on my Sirius weather channel and listen to the weather in Miami for a chuckle.

[justa-hairyape]

Ever stick your foot in Lake Superior ?

[3boysdad]

Yes, but it was summer. But I did live in Charlevoix Michigan for 5 years. Charlevoix is on Lake Michigan and 50 miles south of the bridge... making me a troll! I have pictures of me standing out on Lake Michigan in Janurary with the ice flows rooting up all about and you'd swear I was on the moon! I loved the Great Lakes. I have never seen more consisent sub-zero temps and wind than I have in Wyoming. The difference here is that you don't have to work the snow off your property every darn day. The wind does it for you and takes it to Nebraska! We don't even plow the roads here (interstate and state highways)... we just shut them down because there isn't a point in doing so. The wind is much faster than man.

[3boysdad]

Me too! ;)

[justa-hairyape]

No doubt the wind matters when you are outside. However, when you have fallen of a boat into Lake Superior, the wind don't matter nor does the water current. You will be dead in about 5 minutes, either way. That is a 100 % wet environment just above freezing. From what I gather, the reason the humidity has less of an effect in your area, and why the wind is more important, is that the extreme cold freezes the moisture out of the air. It is relatively dry compared to warmer coastal climates. Both really matter, but in some locals wind is more important and in other locals humidity or air density is more important. The wind speeds in Florida last night were very slow. Tonight they are only 12 mph or lower.

Also, there are areas in the outer Earth's atmosphere where temperatures are 100's of degrees above 0, but if you were there in a space suit, it would not be much of a problem. The density is very low.

[justa-hairyape]

Two of Florida's economic engines are sputtering in the cold.

[justa-hairyape]

From linked article. Florida's citrus problem appears to be a global problem.

Florida's citrus industry produces more than three-quarters of the country's orange crop and about 40 percent of the world's orange juice supply.

[justa-hairyape]

Texas snow below Interstate 10 on the map.

[potlatch]

[A damp wind blowing off the ocean feels physically colder than a dry wind with a considerably lower temperature.]

Thanks, that’s what I’ve been trying to say.

[varina davis]

Though we live in Florida, my husband always orders pink grapefruit from Red Cooper in Texas every winter. They are so good. Hope the freeze doesn’t hurt that crop.

[dusttoyou]

Key West reported its coldest day in 112 years. 47 F. 8.3 C.

What? All those queers can’t frolic on the beach nude???

[potlatch]

One I had saved and uploaded for you;

GrandfatherMountain

[potlatch]

Don’t know any details yet. My daughter, who lives in that area, has been in Austin all weekend. She also has tons of potted plants, hope they didn’t get killed.

[mware]

The folks in the UK are buying old encyclopedias and using them instead of firewood.

Hell, they could have a bond fire with the tax code books here in NJ.

[mware]

It's the Northern Hemisphere fighting a war against the Southern Hemisphere.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[3boysdad]

Yeah, well, I was a little tuned from watching two playoff games last night and was talking a lot of smack! I’m doing much better today. :P

[HereInTheHeartland]

Someone needs to market a Al Gore shaped ice cube ice tray.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Strange place; they have a red flag fire warning along with all the cold weather items:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Orlando&state=FL&site=MLB&textField1=28.5047&textField2=-81.3742&e=0