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The first night of Adonidiageddon here was 29.1F but no visible frost. It stayed under freezing for 3.5 hours. The local airport registered 34 degrees for 2 hours. Current forecast lows are still the worst on Saturday morning at 25F and Sunday morning at 27F. Back to 9A here instead of their silly 10A rating!!!

Latest ECM (Euro) update. The west coast is showing slightly colder than the east coast, as you said it would be. It’s also starting to look like Miami may record its first technical air frost in what… 37 years? That is if the last air frost was back in 1989…? Looking at that, I would expect 30-34F in Miami. Although ECM hi-res map charts typically understate the minimum by about 1-2C / 2-4F. So it could be 28-35F in Miami. This is just one model run though. It may not be correct. Northern panhandle regions don’t look as bad on this run though saying that.

Licuala ‘mapu’ inflorescence. Tim

I was eating lunch today and on the place's TV it flashed... "Possible Wind Chills in the 20ºF's for Miami." I damn near had a heart attack. Yikes. Coldest in 15 years. Going to dig out the improvised garage heating setup last used in 2010 and '09. It's all coming inside now. They mentioned possible snow flurries in Orlando? A reminder for those bringing stuff inside to garages, sheds, etc. to make sure to get pots Off the concrete floor via tables, benches, towels, cardboard, whatever you have. Ryan

K here are some pics of the damage. We were under a hard freeze for about ten hours last night and for about sixteen the night before. Didnt get ice but temps went to 23.5 F on my thermometer here at West Houston/Westchase area. First pics are of three queens I have, small. Then strelitzia nicolais (giant bird of paradise), then areca palms (they are alive at the growth points) and last but not least a cat palm. Not sure how that one is doing. Leaves look a bit darker than before and they have that smell of rot... time will tell. I will update.

You should give my 9B a try here in Houston. 23F last night and the last two years lows of 19F. I wouldn't even dream of a foxtail or king palm.

California has always had periodic cold-waves with terrible freezes...1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1990 and 2007 being amongst the most (in)famous. But in general the immense barrier of the Rockies and the various other mountain ranges of the Western USA keep the cold flowing east. And the mighty Pacific generally acts as a tremendous moderator. But it does happen. But nowadays it's more of an agricultural issue than it is one for tropical ornamental horticulture, since the latter generally exists in developed suburban, semi-urban or urban landscapes with their broad UHIs, as noted by Nathan above; and agriculture has been chased out to less hospitable areas by the power of the developer and the mighty dollar. But as in most places, many plants will be damaged but recover, others will die, and provide gardeners and landscapers with open spaces for something new. Not always a bad situation, in fact an assist to overplanters or those who purposely utilize marginally hardy fillers to round out a young landscape. And there are areas that get scorched by cold most years, even right next to the coast, this due to the particularly varied geography and topography in the west. The nursery industry is no stranger to it, and replacement plants are a healthy part of the plant industry. Also one must keep in mind that, not only are the most severe events east of the Divide more spectacularly cold than in the west, but also the very tender landscaping materials used in Central and Southern Florida are far more pervasive there as compared to the generally more conservative landscapes encountered in most of California, and I believe also in Southern Arizona and Southern Nevada...so the effects are usually much less noticeable in the southwest. But yes, it can fill those of us with large collections of tender materials with a similar angst, to be sure. But at the end of the day you have to readjust, learn, and move on within your level of comfort. Also, I notice that you posted a wind-chill temperature map, rather than the 2m temperature map. Remember that wind-chill is irrelevant to plants, as it only affects animals. Plants can be dried out by the intense, dessicating winds that often accompany extreme cold events, but it's not "wind chill" as is usually equated with the effect of a lower temperature.