Florida Winter 2022-2023

[Matthew92]

4 hours ago, JLM said:

Depends on what you mean by significant. GFS is showing upper 30's at minimum at the moment. This could very easily change, but right now im not overly concerned. Its too far out still to know for certain how cold it may get.

The average high in Pensacola on 3/11 is about 70F, with the average low being somewhere around 52F. 6-8 degrees below average wouldnt be terrible. 

I know it's just one model run of the operational, but still 👀 everything has been trending ever so slightly colder on more recent runs.

[Matthew92]

Just suddenly had a random memory. The last week of March 2014 we had temps around or just below freezing in the FL Panhandle. I remember being quite worried about my citrus which were right in the process of opening flower buds. I covered them the best I could (the trees were smaller then), and if I remember correctly the cold temps were just moderate enough that there was practically no damage and the flowers were undamaged. However I think there was some frost and it did get somewhere around 31-32 deg F at my location.

Frustratingly, Wunderground has severely cut back on their weather station history data, and if you try to look at weather history for Destin, Niceville, or Crestview, it automatically defaults to the Pensacola NAS station for weather data (which must be in quite a warm microclimate as it has much warmer temperatures than what Niceville or Crestview have with temps almost more similar to Destin). It only shows 41 as being the ultimate low on the coldest day. Pensacola, FL Weather History | Weather Underground (wunderground.com)

I finally was able to find the Dothan station (which roughly has more similar temps to Crestview and Niceville (probably Milton as well) being in a non-microclimate location (not close to moderating bodies of water). These temps were more what us in non-microclimate areas experienced during this event.

Shows a low of 33 deg on March 26th. Dothan, AL Weather History | Weather Underground (wunderground.com)

[kinzyjr]

5 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Just suddenly had a random memory. The last week of March 2014 we had temps around or just below freezing in the FL Panhandle. I remember being quite worried about my citrus which were right in the process of opening flower buds. I covered them the best I could (the trees were smaller then), and if I remember correctly the cold temps were just moderate enough that there was practically no damage and the flowers were undamaged. However I think there was some frost and it did get somewhere around 31-32 deg F at my location.

Frustratingly, Wunderground has severely cut back on their weather station history data, and if you try to look at weather history for Destin, Niceville, or Crestview, it automatically defaults to the Pensacola NAS station for weather data (which must be in quite a warm microclimate as it has much warmer temperatures than what Niceville or Crestview have with temps almost more similar to Destin). It only shows 41 as being the ultimate low on the coldest day. Pensacola, FL Weather History | Weather Underground (wunderground.com)

I finally was able to find the Dothan station (which roughly has more similar temps to Crestview and Niceville (probably Milton as well) being in a non-microclimate location (not close to moderating bodies of water). These temps were more what us in non-microclimate areas experienced during this event.

Shows a low of 33 deg on March 26th. Dothan, AL Weather History | Weather Underground (wunderground.com)

If you want to access the other airports, replace the identifier for the airport it defaults to with the identifier for the airport you would like.  You can get a full Excel file of the various airports, gliderports, heliports, Seaplane bases, etc. attached to the first post in the Florida Freeze and Weather Station Data thread.  As an example, suppose you look for a location and it gives you Pensacola International Airport (KPNS).  Note the identifier in the URL.:

Grab the airport identifier that you want and replace that part of the URL with the identifier for the desired airport (or use the URL already supplied in the spreadsheet if you don't mind re-entering the date range).  As an example, Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview is KCEW:

After replacing the airport identifier in the URL you'll be taken to the desired airport with the same date range, regardless of the city or other information.  You could start at any airport/city and check each airport in kind this way:

[JLM]

We are having a really quick progressing spring. All the trees are starting to flower/leaf out if they havent already. Some trees are damn near close to being fully leafed out, others are just getting started. The live oaks are doing their leaf switch which usually happens in mid to late March. Some of the crepe myrtles are already leafing out. My maple tree hasnt moved yet, im beginning to wonder if its actually a red maple. Based on pictures online i may actually have a silver maple.

[__nevii]

@Sabal_Louisiana@Can't think of username

Yes, it was nigh-winterless in the Southern US, apart from the pre-Christmas cold snap. Not sure if "removing those cold days" would allow for tropical fruit cultivation: depends on how well crops like mangoes or bananas can handle mid-upper 30s/low 40s (cold, but still above freezing). I know for sure that people have discussed the tenderness of crops like breadfruit (even 50s or 40s could be enough to cause stress!).

Regarding the Western US versus Southeast, I have seen that comparisons quite a bit ... but not near as much as Southeastern/Eastern US versus Med/Europe.

[Xenon]

55 minutes ago, __nevii said:

@Sabal_Louisiana@Can't think of username

Yes, it was nigh-winterless in the Southern US, apart from the pre-Christmas cold snap. Not sure if "removing those cold days" would allow for tropical fruit cultivation: depends on how well crops like mangoes or bananas can handle mid-upper 30s/low 40s (cold, but still above freezing). 

Yes, easssyyyy if you remove on average 0-5 cold days of the year. Places like Houston and New Orleans are really right on the cusp of being able to grow a lot of "tropical" fruits. I only covered mango, starfruit, and lychee for that one cold snap. It's not that much effort to cover a handful of times a year and you can keep trees small with pruning. Mango is a million times more hardy than breadfruit, very much of the subtropical side of the tropical spectrum and actually struggles in equatorial areas.  There were large mango trees at one point in the warmer parts of Houston during the 2000s warm streak. 

[Matthew92]

13 hours ago, JLM said:

We are having a really quick progressing spring. All the trees are starting to flower/leaf out if they havent already. Some trees are damn near close to being fully leafed out, others are just getting started. The live oaks are doing their leaf switch which usually happens in mid to late March. Some of the crepe myrtles are already leafing out. My maple tree hasnt moved yet, im beginning to wonder if its actually a red maple. Based on pictures online i may actually have a silver maple.

Surprisingly at least in my area, Callery pears haven't flowered yet (all the Bradfords and Cleveland Select cultivars haven't, only one 'Aristocrat' cultivar in my neighborhood is starting). Although I can see that the buds are swelling on the others. Oddly, I've seen on Twitter that Bradfords were already in full bloom in South Carolina (mid to upper part of the state) a few days ago. Very odd considering that is a colder climate.

That is the one thing I like about the Bradford pear cultivar: being how it blooms more consistently here. Usually in mid-March if I remember correctly. It wasn't swayed by the amazingly mild temps in Jan+Feb. I wonder if it being native to China (being subject to similar temperature swings with Siberia just to the north) has forced it wait to leaf out until the threat of very hard freezes passes. I remember in April 2007 when I lived in Southwest Illinois we had a late very hard freeze after most all trees had leafed out and flowered. Almost all trees' leaves were killed and had to regrow a whole new set. There were even a couple very large elm/hornbeam/linden? trees in my neighborhood that were outright killed by this. The only couple trees I can remember off the top of my head that had leaves that didn't get killed by the freeze were Crabapples and Callery Pear! Temperatures experienced were in the low 20's deg F. (The April 2007 Hard Freeze in Illinois: Features and Impacts)

Some trees that are still leafless here I've noticed are Sand Post oak, Pignut Hickory, American Sycamore, Silver Maple, Tulip Tree (Liriodendron), and some cultivars of Chinese Elm. But that list is quickly growing shorter!

[kinzyjr]

Hopefully, we'll be getting some rain here shortly.  The soil is a bit dry in the areas of the yard with all day sun.  The cool-off is showing up in the forecast starting around the 11th as predicted earlier in the thread.

[JLM]

10 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Surprisingly at least in my area, Callery pears haven't flowered yet (all the Bradfords and Cleveland Select cultivars haven't, only one 'Aristocrat' cultivar in my neighborhood is starting). Although I can see that the buds are swelling on the others. Oddly, I've seen on Twitter that Bradfords were already in full bloom in South Carolina (mid to upper part of the state) a few days ago. Very odd considering that is a colder climate.

That is the one thing I like about the Bradford pear cultivar: being how it blooms more consistently here. Usually in mid-March if I remember correctly. It wasn't swayed by the amazingly mild temps in Jan+Feb. I wonder if it being native to China (being subject to similar temperature swings with Siberia just to the north) has forced it wait to leaf out until the threat of very hard freezes passes. I remember in April 2007 when I lived in Southwest Illinois we had a late very hard freeze after most all trees had leafed out and flowered. Almost all trees' leaves were killed and had to regrow a whole new set. There were even a couple very large elm/hornbeam/linden? trees in my neighborhood that were outright killed by this. The only couple trees I can remember off the top of my head that had leaves that didn't get killed by the freeze were Crabapples and Callery Pear! Temperatures experienced were in the low 20's deg F. (The April 2007 Hard Freeze in Illinois: Features and Impacts)

Some trees that are still leafless here I've noticed are Sand Post oak, Pignut Hickory, American Sycamore, Silver Maple, Tulip Tree (Liriodendron), and some cultivars of Chinese Elm. But that list is quickly growing shorter!

I just noticed within the past couple of days up here that the bradford pears are doing a mix of flowering and leafing out. I remember in Tennessee when the bradford pears would flower, the entire tree would be covered, but down here that doesnt happen. You get some flowers and then its straight to leafing out. I guess we should be thankful that we dont get those big flower shows here though because damn, those things stink to the highest heaven!

[Can't think of username]

20 hours ago, __nevii said:

@Sabal_Louisiana@Can't think of username

Yes, it was nigh-winterless in the Southern US, apart from the pre-Christmas cold snap. Not sure if "removing those cold days" would allow for tropical fruit cultivation: depends on how well crops like mangoes or bananas can handle mid-upper 30s/low 40s (cold, but still above freezing). I know for sure that people have discussed the tenderness of crops like breadfruit (even 50s or 40s could be enough to cause stress!).

Regarding the Western US versus Southeast, I have seen that comparisons quite a bit ... but not near as much as Southeastern/Eastern US versus Med/Europe.

I know nothing about tropical fruit, but it's funny you mention that because on the exact same day you did, without seeing it, I actually made a City-Data thread to poke fun at it. Best timing yet for this site!🤪😜😂

https://www.city-data.com/forum/weather/3409041-climate-battle-los-angeles-vs-key.html

As for this thread, March is looking pretty good for the Tallahassee cold hole airport - I see no nights below 4C in the 2 week forecast despite the big cold period then. So it's looking more likely that there will be a January last frost it needs to compensate for the dumb October 2022 freak frost (and is pretty great on its own).
I don't know if it's completely out of the woods after March, though. April frosts there are a freak occurrence but so are October frosts despite one happening just last year, and freak weather would be unknown instead of freak if it didn't happen at all, so I am going to be very closely watching April.

Grim as it already is, an April last frost for the Tallahassee airport would have some unusually suspicious timing. It would be 14 years after the last one (2009) just like the October frost was 14 years after the last 2008 one, and it would be on the 20th anniversary of the dumb April 2003 backload that gave another one. More reasons for it NOT to happen.

[Matthew92]

11 hours ago, JLM said:

I just noticed within the past couple of days up here that the bradford pears are doing a mix of flowering and leafing out. I remember in Tennessee when the bradford pears would flower, the entire tree would be covered, but down here that doesnt happen. You get some flowers and then its straight to leafing out. I guess we should be thankful that we dont get those big flower shows here though because damn, those things stink to the highest heaven!

That's interesting. The one 'Aristocrat' cultivar in my neighborhood is doing what you're describing: although usually it puts on a great display with flowers all at once in the canopy. Bradfords at least from my experience bloom well except some winters just make them not as brilliant or open in a spotty fashion like what you're talking about. The 'Cleveland Select' cultivar (columnar in form) I've observed to not bloom well here at all. It blooms later than the other cultivars and the flowers usually look less of a brilliant white and are sparse in coverage.

Here's some photos I got of good Callery pear blooming in my area from March 2021.

March 9th: Here's the what I think is an 'Aristocrat' cultivar. Blooms just a week or two before the Bradfords. I know Callery pears are starting to be banned (and rightfully so), and I know I shouldn't advocate planting more: but if they were to continue being used (theoretically): I would highly recommend this cultivar for NW FL. Usually flowers well and branching structure is much more spaced out (not as much excessive tight angled branch crotches and no excess branching from a single point).

While this was a fairly good bloom: it has had even more spectacular ones in the past. Most notably March 2015. I'll try to find the photo I took of that.

Here's some nice Bradfords on March 14th

I have to admit I like Callery pears. I understand they are horribly invasive farther north but interestingly here I do not seem them self-sowing hardly at all. Also despite being horrendously overused in other states (and planted so much en-masse that the not quite as pleasant, odorous smell they give is very overwhelming) that is not as much the case here so one doesn't get as tired of them. Additionally, they tolerate the dry, infertile, sandy soil remarkably well.

My theory is that climate conditions just a little farther north are more in the "sweet spot" for this species and hence are more vigorous/weedy than here. Also it's possible our dry, super sandy soil doesn't lend as well to establishment of seedlings. But despite them seeming to grow a little more vigorously farther north: they still grow well enough here, and they highlight North FL's climate having more 4 seasons which I love. From my observations: once you get south of Gainesville, FL, the vigor and blooming dependability steeply declines. I remember a few in Orlando that were indeed alive but never saw them bloom and were stunted.

[Can't think of username]

On 2/28/2023 at 7:49 PM, bubba said:

Immokalee is hotter than a long tailed cat in a non-air conditioned room full of rocking chairs! They are crying like babies down in Jerome and Deep Lake because of the heat performance in Immokalee!

Warm winters in South Florida are almost always followed by seasonally cool March-May dry season. This is good news Mitch!

Immokalee just reached 39C today🤯, that is extremely hot and beats the old record by 2C, probably the Florida record for March and winter as well. https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KIMM.html

[bubba]

102°F with an 82% dewpoint is serious hot sweating heat! Makes Death Valley look beneficent!

[Matthew92]

@JLM here’s that Pyrus Calleryana ‘Aristocrat’ I was mentioning. Taken yesterday. 

[JLM]

I would have naturally assumed it was a bradford pear, they all look the same to me. I have never cared much for any of those pear trees, especially after living in TN. They basically imploded on themselves one after another until they were all gone.

I have noticed that just about every pear tree is flowering at this point, some are much more covered than others. It was a pleasant surprise to see a tree that was at least 50-60% covered in flowers this morning! Maybe really cold winters helps them out some in terms of spring flowers?

Also i do see what you were saying about the branching pattern, with the bradford pears they all branch from the same spot which is their downfall. My neighbor's bradford pear imploded during Sally, it only had 1 branch remaining after the storm. It was quite a large tree, i actually liked it. It had lost a limb in sunny weather conditions with no wind just a few weeks before Sally, which told me right then that it was gonna be a goner sooner rather than later. 

[Can't think of username]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:46 PM, Can't think of username said:

Immokalee just reached 39C today🤯, that is extremely hot and beats the old record by 2C, probably the Florida record for March and winter as well. https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KIMM.html

Turns out this is wrong. I was told on City-Data the temperature sensor has been broken for 3 weeks and leading to unusually high readings.

Most probably it was around 35-36C or so as that's what I see when googling 'Immokalee weather'. Still impressively hot!

And I think I will be adding Crestview to my last frost monitoring list. Normally I don't as it tends to deliver rather poor results for being in Florida, but on occasion it can (eg: 2012 or 2020), and as things stand it is on track for a February 18 last frost, undoubtedly good enough to go on my list this season.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Can't think of username

[Matthew92]

👀 

 

 

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Matthew92 said:

👀 

 

 

Thankfully the freeze threat looks relatively low, certainly not zero but pretty low. Cooler weather in general would be appreciated after seeing 86F today. Both Pensacola, FL and Mobile, AL hit 86F today as well, which absolutely shattered the record high for today! Heres the statement put out by NWS Mobile earlier:

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
0423 PM CST TUE MAR 07 2023

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT MOBILE AND PENSACOLA...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 86 WAS SET AT MOBILE TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 82 SET IN 1925.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 86 WAS SET AT PENSACOLA TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 83 SET IN 1992.

[JLM]

Heres the CPC Hazards Outlook, which showcases a moderate risk for below average temperatures for interior portions of the Southeast, with a low risk surrounding that. FL is not included in this anymore. Previously, all of northern FL was in the moderate risk. Forecast models have pulled back on big time cold potential, especially for FL.

Edited March 8, 2023 by JLM
It might help if i actually included the outlook image :)

[Can't think of username]

6 hours ago, JLM said:

Heres the CPC Hazards Outlook, which showcases a moderate risk for below average temperatures for interior portions of the Southeast, with a low risk surrounding that. FL is not included in this anymore. Previously, all of northern FL was in the moderate risk. Forecast models have pulled back on big time cold potential, especially for FL.

Yeah I don't buy the cold threat at all. Most-important Tallahassee has a 4C low forecast for 15 March, well under the anomalies on that map.

[JLM]

My forecast is much cooler than it was throughout most of February, thats for sure. Highs in the 60's and 70's for the 7 day period, could approach 80F on Friday before the next front sweeps down and knocks us back into the low 60's. Lows expected to be in the upper 30's and the 40's, with one night in the 60's before the front. I am a little concerned about Sunday night though, as the high during the daytime will be right at 60F. The low could dip into the mid 30's at the lowest. Something ill be watching, but as it stands right now nothing will need to be protected. A couple of things will be brough inside, but otherwise nothing major going on here. 

Hopefully i can get my bananas in the ground in the next couple of weeks. The sooner they get in the ground, the better.

[JLM]

The forecast has changed quite a lot since Monday. Quite frankly, im not looking forward to the drastic temperature changes this week.



Sunday night is of concern, as the forecast currently has me at about 4 hours at or below freezing. This freeze will be quite a shock for everybody, including plants, given that we have had weeks of temperatures in the 70's and 80's with no real cooldowns until earlier this week.
NWS Mobile/Pensacola and NWS Tallahassee have both issued Freeze Watches for inland portions of the panhandle for Sunday night, sighting temperatures as low as 29F possible.



Thankfully looking at models, Sunday night looks to be the last freeze threat for the state of Florida. Models show us getting cold fronts, but given that we are slowly getting into the warmer part of the year, temperatures rebound very quickly behind those fronts. Its only a matter of time before cold fronts are only knocking back the humidity, not the temperatures.

For plant protection, a number of potted plants will be brought inside, with the hardiest ones staying up against the house. The foxtail, the mule seedling, and the bananas will be protected. Not sure if ill have to actually add heat to the small ones, ground temperatures should be warm enough to keep anything inside a sheet above freezing.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by JLM

[JLM]

Freeze Warning now as the above graphic says, apparently they update on their own. Waiting for the forecast to update, i suspect the forecast may go down a degree or two.

[AcerPALMatum]

Brrrrrrrr the Crestview MOS is calling for 25F?

[kinzyjr]

7 minutes ago, AcerPALMatum said:

Brrrrrrrr the Crestview MOS is calling for 25F?

Florida's Ice Box strikes again.

[Looking Glass]

I’m just hoping for a little rain down here.  Temps are going to fall into the 60s for a couple of nights, but it’s been hot and dry for months, with essentially no rain.  It’s all dry sand here, and irrigation can’t get the job done right.   We need some rain to soak the deep layers.  It’s the “starving time” for many plants this time of year.  Hotter and sunnier every day and the wet season is far off.  

Did see a hidden Coccothrinax argentata walking with my mom in a local park the other day.  They don’t mind the dry spells.  

 

This guy stood watch nearby.  

[JLM]

After this cold snap, are we looking at anymore? Probably not, the SE ridge builds back in and well, the rest is history. It may feel more like summer going into April. The GFS is showing the possibility for widespread 90's across the FL peninsula, with widespread mid to upper 80's across the Gulf Coast and up into South Carolina. This certainly subject to change and is only 1 model run, but it is a possible outcome given the fact that once the SE ridge takes hold and gets itself established, its hard to get rid of it. As we saw back in February, it got established and it didnt let up until about a month later.

[Looking Glass]

One thing this cool rain brought out is worms.   When I first moved in there weren’t really any.  There really aren’t a ton of worms in the sandy soils here.   After a couple of years of amending, in spring 30 or so might be out on the driveway after spring rains in cool weather.     I’d flick them back into the grass.  

I think I brought them in in some potted material or manure loads.  They disappear in summer when it warms up.  Never seem to be found crawling around in the warm summer.   They seem to go deep or go dormant then.   They don’t seem to really be in the surrounding properties much either.   Just crawling from my yard into the road.   In fall/winter they start to drastically alter the surface of the lawn as they multiply, making it soft and squishy to mow and walk on.  

Tonight it seems like thousands came out!   First time I’ve seen so many.  You can’t even walk out there.   They are all over every paved surface.   The whole yard smells like worms.   

They seem to be able to bury big portions of mulch and leaves very quickly.  When you touch them, they do acrobatic flips.   I think they are Alabama Jumpers (Amynthas agrestis) a pretty aggressive, medium-sized, Asian earthworm.   Not at all like the big, fat “nightcrawlers” up north. 

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/2020/12/09/meet-the-jumping-worm-the-invasive-game-changer/

Not a Night Heron, or baby possum in sight to help with the clean up either.   They do seem to green up the lawn with all of their activity. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Looking Glass

[JLM]

12 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

One thing this cool rain brought out is worms.   When I first moved in there weren’t really any.  There really aren’t a ton of worms in the sandy soils here.   After a couple of years of amending, in spring 30 or so might be out on the driveway after spring rains in cool weather.     I’d flick them back into the grass.  

I think I brought them in in some potted material or manure loads.  They disappear in summer when it warms up.  Never seem to be found crawling around in the warm summer.   They seem to go deep or go dormant then.   They don’t seem to really be in the surrounding properties much either.   Just crawling from my yard into the road.   In fall/winter they start to drastically alter the surface of the lawn as they multiply, making it soft and squishy to mow and walk on.  

Tonight it seems like thousands came out!   First time I’ve seen so many.  You can’t even walk out there.   They are all over every paved surface.   The whole yard smells like worms.   

They seem to be able to bury big portions of mulch and leaves very quickly.  When you touch them, they do acrobatic flips.   I think they are Alabama Jumpers (Amynthas agrestis) a pretty aggressive, medium-sized, Asian earthworm.   Not at all like the big, fat “nightcrawlers” up north. 

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/2020/12/09/meet-the-jumping-worm-the-invasive-game-changer/

Not a Night Heron, or baby possum in sight to help with the clean up either.   They do seem to green up the lawn with all of their activity. 

This happens here during the summer, just not nearly as much. Sometimes the unlucky ones dont make it across the sidewalk before the sun comes up : /

Edited March 20, 2023 by JLM

[Looking Glass]

20 minutes ago, JLM said:

This happens here during the summer, just not nearly as much. Sometimes the unlucky ones dont make it across the sidewalk before the sun comes up : /

Do you know what kind of worms they are?  Up north a kid could make a decent kid’s living harvesting nightcrawlers on rainy summer nights and selling them to the bait shops.   But their upper temperature tolerance is around 90 degrees, and they prefer it be around 60-70.  Way too cold for them to thrive this far south.  

Driveway mortality of these is high.  There are between 1-10 dried up out there/square foot, depending on the spot.  Baby possums will eat them like French fries.   Hopefully they get to work tonight.   

The little ones don’t seem to have the strength to get out of the daylight.   

 

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Looking Glass said:

Do you know what kind of worms they are?  Up north a kid could make a decent kid’s living harvesting nightcrawlers on rainy summer nights and selling them to the bait shops.   But their upper temperature tolerance is around 90 degrees, and they prefer it be around 60-70.  Way too cold for them to thrive this far south.  

Driveway mortality of these is high.  There are between 1-10 dried up out there/square foot, depending on the spot.  Baby possums will eat them like French fries.   Hopefully they get to work tonight.   

The little ones don’t seem to have the strength to get out of the daylight.   

 

Honestly, its at this point that the broom comes in handy lol

I have no clue what kind they area. I just know that we dont usually have as many of them crawling across the sidewalks, at least that i know of. Maybe the ones here actually make it across for the most part? Why would they crawl across the sidewalks/driveways at night?

Also it has just occurred to me that we havent had a good nighttime thunderstorm during the summer in a few years. They usually die out right after sunset.

[Looking Glass]

25 minutes ago, JLM said:

Honestly, its at this point that the broom comes in handy lol

I have no clue what kind they area. I just know that we dont usually have as many of them crawling across the sidewalks, at least that i know of. Maybe the ones here actually make it across for the most part? Why would they crawl across the sidewalks/driveways at night?

Also it has just occurred to me that we havent had a good nighttime thunderstorm during the summer in a few years. They usually die out right after sunset.

They stick.  You need a spatula to scrape them off.  I think they just migrate around when conditions are wet and they can travel freely.  There were so many though.  Way more than I’ve ever seen.  

[JLM]

Florida's ice box hit a low of 28F this morning. Freezing temperatures are scattered throughout the panhandle, although some spots are at or above 35F. Right now im sitting at about 37F with little to no frost, although some readings nearby suggest that temperatures can be as low as 32F. It really just depends on where you are and where all the cold spots are.

[Matthew92]

30 deg last night- no frost. 36 this morning- frost. Most trees seem to have tolerated this somewhat ok even with tender new leaves still emerging. Although I did notice a red maple on the northern edge of town with a bunch of new leaves all browned.

[JLM]

5 minutes ago, Matthew92 said:

30 deg last night- no frost. 36 this morning- frost. Most trees seem to have tolerated this somewhat ok even with tender new leaves still emerging. Although I did notice a red maple on the northern edge of town with a bunch of new leaves all browned.

My maple has just started to get some enlarged buds on it in the past week. Im hoping nothing was damaged, as ive been looking forward to this thing leafing out.

One of my crape myrtles has some burnt new growth. One thing thats very interesting to me though is that every limb that had new growth on it that was hanging above the roof got fried, but the rest of them were mostly fine. I really wonder what caused this.

I hit a low of 29F-30F yesterday with patchy frost at most. The grass in the front yard did not take it too well, but im okay with that. My basjoo bananas, which had just started regrowing, are now burnt again with leaves turning deep deep green. They should continue growth just fine though. My elephant ears got melted pretty much, i think i might remove these. They are becoming invasive to some extent. This would also help the bananas back there, since they wont have to compete with other plants.

[Estlander]

37F last night and 38.5F this morning.