TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Across the so-called Sunshine State, oranges and strawberries are freezing, icicles are hanging off palm fronds, and iguanas paralyzed by the cold are falling out of trees.
Temperatures have plunged as low as the 20s in recent days, forcing people used to wearing flip-flops year-round to put on earmuffs.
"I am a warm-weather boy. There's no way I'm going out there," laughed Archie Adkins of Pensacola Beach as he pointed at bundled-up beachgoers.
And Floridians better bundle up: Flurries are forecast for the Panhandle on Thursday, and temperatures in the rest of the state are running at least 20 degrees below normal.
That prolonged freeze could also doom some of the nonnative iguanas that have called Florida home since being illegally introduced from South America by pet owners.
"It's almost like they go totally to sleep," Ron Magill of Miami Metrozoo told WPLG TV, referring to the fact that once temperatures drop into the 40s, iguanas shut down with very little blood flow and only their heart beating.
This is an excerpt.
http://www.wtvynews4.com/home/headlines/80994737.html
Also killing the snook. The Intracoastal around Ft. Pierce is littered with dead fish. The buzzards are having a field day.
“That prolonged freeze could also doom some of the nonnative iguanas that have called Florida home since being illegally introduced from South America by pet owners.”
If only it were that easy...never mind...illegals, they should get some sort of special help shouldn’t they? Motel rooms? Room service?
I have lights for heat on my orange tree here in NE Florida. I hope it survives. It’s a great tree that produces 200+ oranges every December.
What? Agore is on holiday there?
We had a mix of sleet and a few snow flakes here (Brandon) east of Tampa in the early afternoon. It has not stayed so cold for so long since I’ve lived down here.
Meanwhile, in the SF Bay Area, it’s another loony “Spare the Air” Day and it is illegal to heat our house with firewood.
So is the orange crops a total loss or what? Does the whole orange tree die, or just the orange?
Iguanas drop from trees.
Tastes just like chicken...
This cold snap in FL is all my fault! I jokingly told everyone that since we were going to Florida in January that it would probably be one of the coldest in history! Now I wish I had kept my mouth shut! Sorry!!
Any word on the status of the even less cute n’ cuddly Burmese Pythons?
They must be southern crackers not used to the cold, we here in Michigan put on boots..........ear muffs ain't gonna keep your feet warm.
Local information....
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jan/08/rescuers-round-cold-sapped-critters-some-die/
Farmers Prepare For Overnight Freeze
Farmers are gearing up for frigid conditions overnight Saturday.
Citrus growers in Vero Beach expect to see temperatures in the upper 20s, with wind chills in the teens.
Lewis Schacht, of Schacht Groves, said he hopes the weather doesn't do permanent damage the crops. He said he'll have crews out all night trying to protect them.
Should the crops succumb to the cold, grocery stores around the country could see elevated citrus and juice prices.
At 9:30 pm it was 25.2 degrees just south of Gainesville Florida. It has been extremely cold here for the past week or so. The heat in my office was out all last week, miserable way to work I tell you!