Big Freeze of 2014 - I just as soon start the thread now

[Funkthulhu]

Got up this morning to make coffee and realized the hot water line was frozen in the kitchen. Didn't get it thawed and leave for work until 10:30 this morning.

Still, it only got down to -11.6F last night and the winchill was barely -25F, I'm kind of disappointed.

Hope all of you have better luck in palm-growing territory! (I don't look forward to seeing the lists of the dead)

[_Keith]

Temp jumped up a couple of degrees as cloud cover has moved in. Forecast has not changed with weather.com showing 20, and local forecasters showing 18 for a low, but the clouds are promising. Just keeping my fingers crossed.

And as for you, Funkhulhu, I would have to move. Of course, the So Floridians, and So. Californians say that to me. And the Hawaiians say that to everyone.

[Walt]

The leading edge of the cold front is now starting to come through. Temperature now down to 76. Wind 10 MPH from 308 degrees. Today's high was 81 degrees.

[Xenon]

Dew Point here is 6F...never seen it this low

35F at 2pm

Edited January 6, 2014 by Xenon

[gsytch]

The wind is just kicking up so bad, keeping any frost cloth/covers on is becoming difficult. Temp fell from 69F at 10am to 53F now at almost 3pm. Winds are easily gusting to 30mph. The NWS has me at 32-33F, so borderline, but this wind keeps blowing everything off! Looks like I'll have to go out in the dark when the wind dies down. One more night after tonight, then warmer.

[sonoranfans]

its a 27mph Northern wind and its blowing the humidity out of the palmetto area. temps are now 59F, dewpoint of 54F the dewpoint just 2 hours ago was 62F. Hope that wind dies down soon...

[Alicehunter2000]

40.9 F with 6 mph winds....not too bad yet.....2:23pm

[Tropicdoc]

David, that doesn't sound too bad!

[Silas_Sancona]

Sonoranfans,

Perfectly stated. Im just west of #41/ 14th St W. and yes, the difference here, vs areas north or, more so, east of 75 is pretty blatant. There are some decent Royals east of here but they look better the further west one travels, say down Manatee or on 53rd.

Was surprised to encounter Mahogany and Gumbo Limbo trees planted in the dividers along portions of Cortez. Didn't think id encounter either this far north. Remember how warm the area stayed during the '10 freeze as well. Visited Selby right after the cold lifted and couldn't believe that the Papayas growing near the restrooms, near the Koi pond were perfectly fine. Was a lot colder/ clearly obvious damage around where I lived up in Clearwater/Largo during that time. Having the three main bodies of water in close proximity makes a huge difference, unless, as you stated, the wind drives the cold in from the east. Agree that the Gulf is warmer this year, which helps modify the air temps downwind.

David,(AH2000), agree that Keith got delt a bad hand this time. regardless, both of you put a lot into your collections this year and loosing prized specimens, of anything, is a hair puller. Hoping any potential damage is cosmetic.

Axel,

While the humidity can get oppressive here, the closer to the coast you are, the more of a sea breeze you get, much like living in Santa Cruz or Watsonville vs Morgan Hill or Gilroy during the heat waves. Another thing that can keep things bearable during the summer are the fairly consistent Thunderstorms we get. While the evenings stay warm afterwards, it isn't too bad.

The further inland you go, less influence from the sea breeze, and it can definitely get oppressive. Got caught in a storm while visiting Lakeland several years ago and thought to myself "is rain supposed to feel WARMER than bathwater?" lol.. regardless, AC was a requirement when moving, and the house is block built, which helps, so far. We'll see where my opinion stands come July. As far as Cocos go, Veitchias are high on my to acquire/germinate list. More tropical looking imo.

Atm, winds are up and the sun is trying to come out. Front came through around 11am after a foggy and humid start. NOAA up'ed their forecast lows to 39-40 but Accuweather is still bottoming out around 36F for both nights. Still forecast to reach 80 by Friday. 12z run of the W.U. models suggests a reprieve from any more artic blasts, aside from a possible dip or two, and maybe some rain finally getting back into CA around 384 hours out. Lets hope, we all could use a break.

-Nathan-

[PalmatierMeg]

Front arrived about 2 pm. Temp dropped 12 degrees in 2 hours. Was 79.5 at 1:15, 72.8 30 minutes later. Right now it's 65.1

[Walt]

At 4:15 p.m: Temp. 66 degrees; wind 9 MPH at 308 degrees.

[Ed in Houston]

In SE Houston it was 29F this morning. The NWS had predicted 26 and clear skies but some cirus blew in from the SW. Tonight they are predicting 22F and clear skies again but it is cloudy now. I picked a couple of hundred grapefruit today and covered some of the tender smaller plants like Cham-cat plams and scheffelerra bushes. Lots of other tender plants will just to have to tough it out, hoping the NWS is off again tonight by 3 degrees on the low side.

Ed in Houston

[_Keith]

Polar Vortex. Google it for news

Polar vortex: What is it, and when is it going away?

[Ken Johnson]

72.4 here now....

[Xenon]

Already below freezing...bananas are collapsing, shell ginger has major burn, Livistona chinensis is showing discoloration and tip burn

[Trópico]

48°F @ 7:12 PM (Orlando)

[sonoranfans]

51 degrees at 7pm, but dew point is now 38F. the wind keeps coming out of the north at 19mph blowing out the moisture. Updated weather reports say a low of 39F, but they keep changing, indicates they don't have a good handle on this. I don't have all that much at risk in the event of a freeze except some veitchia and some small true dypsis ambositrae in the ground... And I wont be there to protect them... I hope the wind dies down so the canopy can do its protection magic....

[Walt]

At 8:00 p.m: Temp. 54 degrees; wind 6 MPH at 330 degrees.

[The7thLegend]

Just saw that forecast lows for both Jacksonville and Houston Monday night are 21 degrees, ouch, proof that these really are 9a climates. Don't worry though, I'm sure people will continue to post photos of "Jacksonville" with coconuts, lol

I won't be one of them posting Cocos. InAccu Weather shows 16 for Jax. WTH?

If you change your zip, you will see the forecast change, too. AccuW is calling for 27F at my house, yet if I change to Tarpon Springs zip (5 mi south) it calls for 34F. I do believe they take their forecasts off the nearest airport. In my case, rural Hernando County, which is actually not only further away, but far north and east and easily 5-7 degrees colder than me. Weather.com does that, too. So it is just an estimate. My experience tells me when they call for 32F in Tampa, I am at 31/32F and so on. It will be cold!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL 72F and sunny right now - the calm before the storm.

Try using the NWS point forecaster. It will give their specific forecast for a very small area.

For areas like Tarpon Springs, this is essential. By the water might be 10F warmer (or more) than inland and east of US 19.

Heres the point forecaster screen for my spot in Palm Harbor. If one clicks around to other map areas, the forecasts will change accordingly.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=28.109315364962182&lon=-82.75760650634766#.Usm2h7QVX1A

Thanks. I'm up to 22 so that's an improvement. But local news showing 18-22 degrees west of the St. Johns.

[Xenon]

downgraded to 19F...Houston 22F, Galveston 29F

currently 31F

Edited January 7, 2014 by Xenon

[The7thLegend]

I thought a cold event like this happens every 30 years or at minimum 10 years, didn't this happen in 09 and 10? Very discouraging to wait for the damage and recovery.

Current temp 40 Jax, FL

[gsytch]

Currently holding at 48.6F with a still stiff wind, slightly veering NNW, gusts over 20mph. Skies are basically overcast, which is helping kee the temp up. Considering it is only 9-10 hours away from the coldest point, 7am, it would have to drop 2 degrees per hour to reach that. So while the wind chill is awful, I believe we will escape tonight here. I cannot stop the greenhouse from flapping, so I have two heaters inside (cuttings and seedlings in there, plus some Vandas) and it is upper 50'sF. The last few shots of cold air, in the recent past, were radiational events. This one is tough as the winds are just blowing - being about a mile from the GOM doesn't help, but yet does with the temps. Mango tree in full bloom. It is about 35' tall. It would hold some great fruit at that size...hoping anyway. Wed morning is iffy. There looks like some easterly component to the winds, which can help. Let us hope the long range - showing above avg temps - holds true.

[Gtlevine]

South Florida desperately needs a deep freeze event. The last cold snap killed off a good amount of the pythons that are creating havoc in the Everglades. They need another one to thin the crop of non indigenous wild life taking over.

[_Keith]

It happened in 10/11. And I would say it is a 10 year event, but that is average, and you know how average comes about.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Holding at 36.5 at 11:30pm in Flour Bluff (east side of Corpus Christi).

[Alicehunter2000]

The 2010 and 2011 event never got below approx. 26 in Panama City..........this event, although much shorter is colder and much more wind.

almost midnight here wind has picked up again....gusting 20-25 mph and temps at 26 and falling............going to be a bad one tonight....got a lot of things covered, if the wind doesn't blow it off, water is dripping from my well pump to keep from freezing up...got rope lighting on my Bizmarkia. Pool canopy/heater combo seems to be working, but don't have a thermometer to check temps. Hopefully the big stuff is going to be able to handle it.

Supposed to be a nice weekend with temps back in the 70's

How bout them Noles!

.

[_Keith]

The 2010 and 2011 event never got below approx. 26 in Panama City..........this event, although much shorter is colder and much more wind.

almost midnight here wind has picked up again....gusting 20-25 mph and temps at 26 and falling............going to be a bad one tonight....got a lot of things covered, if the wind doesn't blow it off, water is dripping from my well pump to keep from freezing up...got rope lighting on my Bizmarkia. Pool canopy/heater combo seems to be working, but don't have a thermometer to check temps. Hopefully the big stuff is going to be able to handle it.

Supposed to be a nice weekend with temps back in the 70's

How bout them Noles!

.

Well, I guess the good news is that it is colder there than here right now, which means this thing is moving on.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Local news stations are predicting 31 or 32F for the airport (west side of Corpus Christi), 33 or 34F for Flour Bluff, and 38F for North Padre Island. I think the mid Rio Grande Valley will probably be in the low 30's, mid 30's in the lower part of the Valley (Brownsville) and probably about 39 or 40F for South Padre. A local station her in Corpus, said the Valley might have some sleet tonight as there is an area of moisture about 50+ miles south of Corpus. I noticed in the last hour, there are breaks in our cloud cover here. I hope we keep the cloud blanket tonight. We are supposed to be back in the low 70's on Thursday though!

[sarasota alex]

South Florida desperately needs a deep freeze event. The last cold snap killed off a good amount of the pythons that are creating havoc in the Everglades. They need another one to thin the crop of non indigenous wild life taking over.

Freezes in Jan of 2010 killed off the Iguana and Nile Monitor populations in Sarasota County

[sarasota alex]

Still 49 here. Only one thermometer is working at the moment but the one that's in the location that's about the average temp for my yard. Hoping it won't drop below the high 30's today. At least two of my palms get meristem damage below 40 and with protection should be able to handle 37 or so. Not so sure about 34 and below.

[Walt]

It's 4 a.m. and the temperature has been holding around 44 degrees for the past two hours. The wind is now coming in from 3 degrees. I'm as pleased as punch. Hopefully, we've dodged the polar vortex bullet.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

4am..it's 46 here, but I don't know what the wind chill factor is.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Oh hey, Good morning Walt!

[Walt]

Oh hey, Good morning Walt!

It's a great morning for me. No way is it going to drop as low as predicted. It will be back into the 80s by week's end.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Walt, that's what I'm hoping for….better-than-expected lol.Side note, I missed your last garden tour with CFPACS so I'm also hoping to someday to meet you!

[Shirleypalmpaws]

5:30 & 44. Was just outside now to retrieve a hanging Hoya that I forgot to bring in last night. I have no idea what the wind chill factor is, but it feels waayyy colder than 44. Yukky Brr.

[gsytch]

It is 630am and 35.5F here, with a still stiff breeze. The wind chill must be remarkable. Skies have cleared somewhat. There is still a light overcast with breaks, which helped the temp drop for sure. With less than an hour before daylight, it looks like it is close but no cigar. However, I am worried about tonight. If it clears, and winds do not veer easterly to a degree, it could be an issue. It will be a LONG COLD DAY. Luckily, starting Wed., warming begins and we can say goodbye to the Polar Vortex!

[Ed in Houston]

The NWS pinpoint had forecasted 22 for SE houston. Woke up at 5 am to 28. I expect It will drop another degree before dawn. No worries as the garden will tollerate 9b temperatures. The skies remained mostly cloudy overnight and the wind died down to near calm. Dodged the bullet here.

Ed in Houston

[Ken Johnson]

49 here now, windy!

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Just a few minutes ago I was showing Michael the temp was 42. Then Just few minutes later it dropped to 39. Dang that was very fast!