Polar Vortex Jan 2025 - Are you preparing your palms?

[Axel Amsterdam]

The location your weatherstation is showing is right in the middle of the business/financial center consisting of closely packed large office buildings. I don’t see any houses with private gardens or are your plants in a communal garden? I am not saying i dont believe the incredible microclimate that little piece of central London has to offer. Just surprised by the nature of the location your weatherstation refers to. 

[Matthew92]

Will keep an eye on this

[Mazat]

7 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Erstens waren Großbritannien und große Teile Skandinaviens von diesem arktischen Kälteeinbruch direkt betroffen, während der Großteil des europäischen Festlands und Mitteleuropas weitgehend verschont blieb. Die Abweichung vom Durchschnitt war in Frankreich, den Niederlanden, Deutschland, Österreich, Tschechien, Ungarn, der Slowakei, Polen usw. bei weitem nicht so schlimm. Der Großteil der kalten Luft gelangte über Norwegen auf der Westseite Skandinaviens direkt nach Schottland und England.

Außerdem bin ich außerhalb des Großraums London und lebe in einem kleinen Dorf ohne jegliche UHI. Ich habe also keinen wirklichen Schutz und bin außerdem 35 Meilen landeinwärts von der Küste entfernt. Die Gegend, in der ich lebe, ist ein bisschen von Frost betroffen und ich wollte schon seit einiger Zeit wegziehen (an die Südküste). Sie können meinen Standort unten mit dem blauen Punkt markiert sehen …

 

London ist im Moment sowieso kalt. Selbst mit diesem massiven UHI wird der Frost während dieser Veranstaltung nicht ferngehalten. St. James Park im Zentrum Londons meldet um 1 Uhr morgens +0,1 °C / 32 °F. Starker UHI-Einfluss, obwohl es ein offener Park ist.

Heathrow meldet frostige -2,9 °C / 26 °F …

Kew Gardens meldet schockierende -5 °C / 23 °F … aber das ist natürlich eine Frostmulde im Westen Londons. Trotzdem beträgt der Unterschied zwischen St. James Park und Kew 5 °C, und sie liegen in der Stadt nur 7,2 Meilen voneinander entfernt.

Auch die Gegend um Torquay, Paignton und Brixham in Devon ist unglaublich mild. Nach den Scilly-Inseln wohl der zweitmildeste Ort während arktischer Kälte. Dort sind es um 1 Uhr morgens örtlich 8 °C, obwohl uns der Polarwirbel beeinflusst. Ein richtiges Mikroklima. Pflanzen Sie dort Beccariophoenix Alfredii in die Erde!!!

Dann haben Sie die uneinnehmbare Frostfestung der Scilly-Inseln, die seit 28 Jahren keinen Januar-Luftfrost mehr erlebt hat. Das letzte Mal, dass es dort im Januar 0,0 °C / 32 °F erreichte, war 1997. Die dortige Met Office-Station hat gerade um 01:00 Uhr schockierende +9,6 °C / 49 °F gemeldet. NEUN KOMMUNIKATIONSSECHS! Während eines „Wirbel“-artigen Ereignisses. Welten entfernt von hier. 16 °C / 30 °F wärmer als mein Standort im Moment, verdammt noch mal. Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob das mehr darüber aussagt, wie mild die Scilly-Inseln sind, oder mehr darüber, wie beschissen mein Standort ist. Ein bisschen von beidem.

 

Es ist ohnehin offiziell die kälteste Winternacht im Vereinigten Königreich mit -18,1 °C /  0F im nördlichsten schottischen Hochland. Das bedeutet, dass zwischen Nord-Zentral-Schottland und den Scilly-Inseln um Mitternacht ein Temperaturunterschied von 27,7 °C /  55F besteht! So ein großer Unterschied kommt nicht oft vor! Geografisch gesehen sind wir kein sehr großes Land.

Mein Musa-Basjoo-Büschel ist zu groß und zu breit, um ausreichend geschützt zu sein. Ich vermute, dass es ganz schön hart zu spüren sein wird, wenn dieser Polarwirbel die Stadt verlassen hat! Um 1 Uhr morgens sind es bei mir -5 °C / 23 °F!!! Ich erwarte heute Nacht mindestens -6 °C / 21 °F. Wahrscheinlich -7 °C / 19 °F. Dies wird wahrscheinlich die kälteste Winternacht in diesem Jahr in Großbritannien. Wenn ich mir die Modelle anschaue, bezweifle ich, dass sie übertroffen wird.

Unten können Sie sehen, wie kalt es in meiner Gegend ist. Hier gibt es eine richtige Frostgrube, da die umliegenden Täler die Kälte ableiten und mein Haus tiefer liegt. Die Kälte sammelt sich also hier. Ich muss wirklich wegziehen!

Thank you for your explanations and highly interesting comments.

This helps people understand why someone was spared or not, or only partially.

Yes, you could really consider moving to an even milder, warmer area in the long term, as you mentioned by way of example.

 

[Foxpalms]

7 hours ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Your station has a slightly different reading than nearby stations. 

Those two 24f ones are innacurate. Those stations have always been off. The others, except maybe that southwark one are accurate however, it's just that area is warmer. All three of these stations are in the city of London are close to each other and have almost the exact same temperature readings.  The one on wunderground is a bresser whilst the others are both Davis vantage pro 2s on weather link.

 

That one showing 32f or 27f im also suspicious of. As in the summer it's shown innacurate temperatures and clearly it's not 32f there at the moment. For example that one near Canada water is likely in a north facing garden hence why it usually takes slightly longer for the temps to catch up, however that is accurate (Davis vantage pro 2) and is at 36f.

31.2f low for the bresser and both Davis stations showing lows of 31f. There used to be stations in nine elms that were 0.2f colder than the city of Westminster ones as to be expected however they have been offline for a while. As well as the ones in Chelsea.

The one in the city of Westminster also used to have another station fairly close to it. They both had almost the exact same temperature readings.

This one is a government weather station in the city of Westminster. You can go also go through the lows on the city of London weather stations are they are similar. And for example if it did get to 24f, I don't think kentia palms would be undamaged.

 

 

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

Well that one wasn't that bad. Hopefully this is all, but I hear of another (potentially) rough cold spell around January 21st or so. 

 

[Arecaceus]

So far I've still been spared. Still no frost. Last night and all along today the temperature constantly fluctuated between just above 0°C and 1°C up and down. Not even the ground is freezing. There are still small amounts of snow left melting very slowly because of the relatively cold weather. I said this before but let's see what happens this night...

[Xenon]

Well the indicator Ficus umbellata did not melt neither did the Monstera and other aroids. So at this point I'm not worried about any kind of damage. Just gotta get through the next 40 days 😆. I really really want to see the next Cyphophoenix leaf open

Hit 31F last night after two consecutive nights of 30F earlier in the week

[UK_Palms]

Last night was the coldest January night in the UK for 15 years (since January 2010) with a minimum of -18.9C / -2F recorded in the far north of Scotland. Not quite the -20C being touted earlier, but it was still also the coldest UK temperature in almost 4 years, since February 2021. But most importantly the coldest January temperature in 15 years for the UK as a whole. So quite significant.

You also have to go back 43 years to 1982 for the last time anywhere had a January daytime max as low as Kinbrace in northern Scotland yesterday. And for Kinbrace, it just had the lowest daytime max on record overall for that station too. So this is a pretty significant cold event.

 

Pretty cold in London, but nothing major for a mid-winter cold event. Nowhere remained frost free in the capital however. Even the inner city personal weather stations went below freezing and most protected areas would have seen about -2C / 28F. I don’t pay too much attention to the PWS readings in central London and stick to the St James Park, Battersea Heliport and London City airport reports. Central London is still running at a 9b winter and the suburbs 9a.

These are last night’s minimums for the London Met stations, airports and Gold rated PWS’s on the Met website. There is about a 6C / 11F difference between the highest and lowest across the city last night.

-1.7C / 29F at Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross (centre of city and heavily sheltered)

-2.2C / 28F at Marylebone / London Zoo

-2.3C / 28F at Tottenham Lock

-2.7C / 27F at Battersea Heliport

-2.8C / 27F at Islington St Paul’s Park

-2.9C / 26F at High Beach / Epping Forest

-3.0C / 26F at London City airport

-3.3C / 26F at St James Park

-3.7C / 25F at Ranelagh Sailing club

-3.9C / 25F at Belvedere / Erith

-4.4C / 24F at Hampstead Heath

-5.3C / 22F at Kenley Airfield

-5.5C / 22F at Heathrow

-6.5C / 20F at Kew Gardens

-6.6C / 20F at Iver Water Works (far western suburbs)

-7.1C / 19F at Northolt

-7.3C / 19F at Bushy Park

-7.6C / 18F at Hayes Meadow

-7.7C / 18F at Chertsey Abbey Mead (far southwestern suburbs)

-8.3C / 17F at North Watford (far northwestern suburbs)

The Isles of Scilly were reporting +10.9C / 51F at 3am last night. I mean compare that to London last night. They haven’t gone below 4.4C / 40F this winter at Scilly, so they are still looking at a zone 11a winter there…

[Subtropical LIS]

4 hours ago, Xenon said:

Well the indicator Ficus umbellata did not melt neither did the Monstera and other aroids. So at this point I'm not worried about any kind of damage. Just gotta get through the next 40 days 😆. I really really want to see the next Cyphophoenix leaf open

Hit 31F last night after two consecutive nights of 30F earlier in the week

Your yard looks nice and green for mid winter. Everthing looks well.

Looking at the temps in the next 7 days (can’t tell you what will happen in the next 40 days however – lol)…I think your location is likely not going to see anything much below 30 F (give or take a few degrees). There will be one more cold dip Monday – Tue (lows 40’s F on the Gulf Coast, low 30’s F on the coastal plain). By later this week, your location should see highs nearing close to normal (60’s F). 

 

 

It looks like most locations on the Gulf are running close to their zone or warmer so far this winter. New Orleans for example is still having a 10b winter so far. The Atlantic coast has been much the same – Charleston, SC is having a 10a winter so far, and most stations down here on the Florida peninsula have seen lows near normal or above. Miami is having a 12a winter so far, and there has been only 4 nights below 55 F so far (lowest 52 F).

Was up in north-central Florida today, and noticed some burning on the Travelers Palms near Melbourne.  While it was near 70 F today, it got down to mid-40’s F here last few nights:

 

[Matthew92]

 

[Xenon]

8 minutes ago, Subtropical LIS said:

 

Was up in north-central Florida today, and noticed some burning on the Travelers Palms near Melbourne.  While it was near 70 F today, it got down to mid-40’s F here last few nights:

 

 

That looks more like salt burn than cold imo. Judigng by the pic, it's right up against the water 

[Subtropical LIS]

16 minutes ago, Matthew92 said:

 

After this Tuesday (Jan 14th)...it looks like close to normal until near the 22nd or so. While so models do show another "polar plunge" (although some don't)...it's pretty far out in the model range (10 days plus). It also looks like it's aimed at points west of the Mississippi. So who knows if it's correct, but it's worth watching.

[Subtropical LIS]

13 minutes ago, Xenon said:

That looks more like salt burn than cold imo. Judigng by the pic, it's right up against the water 

I thought so too, but not really sure. It IS right up aganist the ocean.  There was some cool temps in the last few nights in that area, though. I'll have to see what others further south look like tomorrow, if I see any. 

[Foxpalms]

21 hours ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

The location your weatherstation is showing is right in the middle of the business/financial center consisting of closely packed large office buildings. I don’t see any houses with private gardens or are your plants in a communal garden? I am not saying i dont believe the incredible microclimate that little piece of central London has to offer. Just surprised by the nature of the location your weatherstation refers to. 

 

That area is the warmest area of London. I usually record temps slightly lower. My lows tend to be more similar to the Charing cross weather station as it's closer. Though I made a fairly large pond in the garden, one because visually I like the look of them, but two it tends to help regulate the garden temps. This year because of Dec being mild the water temp in there has been running above average so the temperature regulation from the pond seems stronger than during previous cold periods. I'm also closer to the river Thames so that is also likely making a slight difference. I don't have a weatherlink live for my Davis weather station, so it's not connected to wunderground however I can see the temps on the console. 

 

In the city of London there are small areas though that palms could be planted in however for now they remain mostly just grass. There still are a lot of planters with zone 9b and 10a plants, likely bought as summer plants which just get left there and survive every winter. Cannas will go through bad winters for example without any damage and remain completely green.  

[Foxpalms]

4 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Last night was the coldest January night in the UK for 15 years (since January 2010) with a minimum of -18.9C / -2F recorded in the far north of Scotland. Not quite the -20C being touted earlier, but it was still also the coldest UK temperature in almost 4 years, since February 2021. But most importantly the coldest January temperature in 15 years for the UK as a whole. So quite significant.

 

Pretty cold in London, but nothing major for a mid-winter cold event. Nowhere remained frost free in the capital however. Even the inner city personal weather stations went below freezing and most protected areas would have seen about -2C / 28F. I don’t pay too much attention to the PWS readings in central London and stick to the St James Park, Battersea Heliport and London City airport reports. Central London is still running at a 9b winter and the suburbs 9a.

These are last night’s minimums for the London Met stations, airports and Gold rated PWS’s on the Met website. There is about a 6C / 11F difference between the highest and lowest across the city last night.

-1.7C / 29F at Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross (centre of city and heavily sheltered)

-2.2C / 28F at Marylebone / London Zoo

-2.3C / 28F at Tottenham Lock

-2.7C / 27F at Battersea Heliport

-2.8C / 27F at Islington St Paul’s Park

-2.9C / 26F at High Beach / Epping Forest

-3.0C / 26F at London City airport

-3.3C / 26F at St James Park

 

I haven't really paid much attention to the metoffice "Charing cross" weather station. From the past they have had multiple weather stations connected to charring cross on there though that were not actually in Charing cross but nearby. For example I recall one them actually being situated in the urban area between green park and Hyde park.  The wunderground one which is in Charing cross hit exactly 30f/-1.1c. The covent garden station which is offline at the moment used to run at almost the exact same temperature as that one. From what I can see the most protected areas hit 30-31f though most of central London would be running at a 9b winter.

Jan 2023 was worse in my opinion but this freeze hasn't exactly been a mild one either. 

Up in Scotland near Aviemore one PWS recorded -20c at the bottom of a valley.

[onlypalms]

Hello, I am quite new here (made this account recently), and I would appreciate some input for what I should do for my Howea Forsteriana palm. My place is looking going to see at least three conecutive nights at or below -4 (24-25F). I know they can handle down to -5 but the weather station for me is in a town 10km away and I'm in a rugged hilly area that tends to get a lot of thermal inversion and microclimates, and my street is in a lower point that sees frost more frequently. 

Any advice is appreciated (or is my palm screwed?).

[Mazat]

16 hours ago, Xenon said:

Well the indicator Ficus umbellata did not melt neither did the Monstera and other aroids. So at this point I'm not worried about any kind of damage. Just gotta get through the next 40 days 😆. I really really want to see the next Cyphophoenix leaf open

Hit 31F last night after two consecutive nights of 30F earlier in the week

They are all looking good,  30 °F seems to have no effect, so much the better ☀️

[Mazat]

we had in the community garden:

-4.5 °C yesterday / max. 6.1 °C (full sun)

-3.0 °C today / max. 3.4 °C

ot as low temperatures as predicted, we are happy. now we have to get through tomorrow and tuesday, and then it should get better again according to the weather forecast, let's say more stable. 

[Mazat]

1 minute ago, Mazat said:

we had in the community garden:

-4.5 °C yesterday / max. 6.1 °C (full sun)

-3.0 °C today / max. 3.4 °C

ot as low temperatures as predicted, we are happy. now we have to get through tomorrow and tuesday, and then it should get better again according to the weather forecast, let's say more stable. 

we had in the community garden:

-4.5 °C / 23.9 °F  yesterday / max. 6.1 °C / 42.98 °F (full sun) 

-3.0 °C / 26.6 °F  today / max. 3.4 °C  / 38.12 °F

[PalmSupreme]

On 1/11/2025 at 6:07 AM, Axel Amsterdam said:

The location your weatherstation is showing is right in the middle of the business/financial center consisting of closely packed large office buildings. I don’t see any houses with private gardens or are your plants in a communal garden? I am not saying i dont believe the incredible microclimate that little piece of central London has to offer. Just surprised by the nature of the location your weatherstation refers to. 

This weather station can be ignored like many others in central London they are on balconies and roofs with no green space - most are junk. 

[PalmSupreme]

On 1/11/2025 at 1:00 PM, Foxpalms said:

Those two 24f ones are innacurate. Those stations have always been off.

Entirely unsubstantiated claim. One of those stations in Rotherhithe with 24F are mine and I assure it’s more accurate than 99% of them in London for example on 40C day in summer 2022 my maximum was 38.8C meanwhile most PWS were 41-43C+ and overheating as usual. The other PWS in neighbourhood is positioned above well above a block of flats. This is far too warm. Despite being rather central my area has a microclimate, it is more leafy here and the land has lots of dips from former use of docks, so when there’s no wind cold air pools. Typically my averages through year are very close to Heathrow, my nights at least in the warm months tend to run warmer.

[Foxpalms]

2 hours ago, PalmSupreme said:

Entirely unsubstantiated claim. One of those stations in Rotherhithe with 24F are mine and I assure it’s more accurate than 99% of them in London for example on 40C day in summer 2022 my maximum was 38.8C meanwhile most PWS were 41-43C+ and overheating as usual. The other PWS in neighbourhood is positioned above well above a block of flats. This is far too warm. Despite being rather central my area has a microclimate, it is more leafy here and the land has lots of dips from former use of docks, so when there’s no wind cold air pools. Typically my averages through year are very close to Heathrow, my nights at least in the warm months tend to run warmer.

Never been to that side of Rotherhite though I saw 9b plants alive that would die right after the Jan 2023 freeze on the other side facing towards Wapping. The station near the tower of London though is 100% not accurate. There are also zone 10a plants 150-200m from that station.  Uploaded photos of undamaged plants there on here during that freeze proving it's impossible for that station to accurate. St Pauls Cathedral school weather station has green areas around it yet that station doesn't get that much colder than the others in the city of London.  And it isn't sat on a block of apartments. Most in central London tend to be located in small court yards at ground level and with very little greenery however that does actually create a warmer microclimate hence why those plants survive there. There aren't many larger green areas around either. It would be nice if stations were set up on the larger green areas, though properties with gardens of that size in those locations would be hundreds of millions of pounds to purchase.  Is the station in Canada water 100% on the roof because the google images of the roof top photos don't show a weather station up there and were taken when the station was running. There is also a small garden area in that block of flats at ground level and 1-2f more if it were attached to building would make sense but not 5f. 

Do you have any photos of your station. Interested to see how it's set up.  I'm guessing it's the netatmo weather station on wunderground.

Where you are is a colder part of inner London but there are colder areas with a lot more greenery around compared to your location with stations on lawns in the garden that were warmer than yours. Even stations on the outskirts of London in urban areas less built up than where you are have higher lows. Ones likely in the garden.

[Foxpalms]

My min temp. Recorded 6ft above the ground on the center of the lawn.  Davis weather station. 

Very built up area with a large pond in the garden but still taken on the center of the grass lawn coldest spot in the garden.  I have other stations I set up in warmer parts of the garden though that was only so I could monitor the temperature for the palms planted there. My station was identical during the day to St James park metoffice station the during July 2022 40.2c day.  Judging by Archontophoenix and bromeliads being fine I doubt it's innacurate.

[Mazat]

31 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

My min temp. Recorded 6ft above the ground on the center of the lawn.  Davis weather station. 

Very built up area with a large pond in the garden but still taken on the center of the grass lawn coldest spot in the garden.  I have other stations I set up in warmer parts of the garden though that was only so I could monitor the temperature for the palms planted there. My station was identical during the day to St James park metoffice station the during July 2022 40.2c day.  Judging by Archontophoenix and bromeliads being fine I doubt it's innacurate.

Davis weather stations are very accurate, I also think that in this case the 40.2 degrees Celsius in St. James Park was simply correct. The fact that your Davis showed the same value at the coolest place in your garden is solid proof. We also measured 39.6 degrees Celsius in Quinten in Switzerland near a small wood with a Davis in a rather cool location. The value was not recognized.
Back then, people preferred to take Geneva ... is just better known

 

[Axel Amsterdam]

24 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

My min temp. Recorded 6ft above the ground on the center of the lawn.  Davis weather station. 

Very built up area with a large pond in the garden but still taken on the center of the grass lawn coldest spot in the garden.  I have other stations I set up in warmer parts of the garden though that was only so I could monitor the temperature for the palms planted there. My station was identical during the day to St James park metoffice station the during July 2022 40.2c day.  Judging by Archontophoenix and bromeliads being fine I doubt it's innacurate.

I believe your garden is very mild but another PT member has observed before that your bangalow suffers from delayed cold damage, manifesting itself  in brown leaves later during the growing season. Sometimes plants don’t follow the temps and zones precisely, for good and for bad. Sometimes pictures speak more than words.

In general i believe your technical observations about London, weatherstations and zones would gain strength from regularly posting pictures of your garden and the plants. Like most PT members here do really. 

[UK_Palms]

Folks in Texas will be watching on anxiously. The 12z ECM is a shocker, almost reminiscent of Feb 2021... 0F showing on it for DFW.

 

@PalmSupreme Fancy seeing you here, Dreamer. Let us know how the CIDP does from being out in a pot during this event. I am intrigued to see whether it took much damage given your minimums and the roots being situated above ground. I still think you should get it in the ground this spring, if you ask me.

Try to grab a small Washingtonia this spring as well if I was you, if the lowest temp you have recorded in a decade or so is only what... -5.5C / 22F...? Washingtonia's are thriving in the capital. They grow better than Tattycarpus. Sorry I mean Trachycarpus. But yeah, get a Washie to go with the CIDP. Welcome to Palmtalk as well lol. 👍

[PalmSupreme]

3 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

Never been to that side of Rotherhite though I saw 9b plants alive that would die right after the Jan

The set up is indeed a Netatmo I keep it in a part of garden where it remains completely in shade in winter. I also have Ecowitt sensors they align pretty closely so I know it’s accurate within 0.5C.

I don’t feel entirely comfortable sending pictures but perhaps later… this is what the general neighbourhood looks like and here’s a local CIDP thriving. It’s quite suburban for zone 2. I’m very close to Russia Dock woodland a former dock which was transformed into a park in 1980s this adds to strange microclimate. My lowest temperature on record is -5.7C (22F) I measured this in December 2022 with snow cover, so it still reveals how cold extremes are not as great. In January 2023 for example Heathrow had -8.4C lowest January temperature since 1987 I had -5C as my low.

 

to add how cold it has been in London Docklands the local dock Greenland Dock has frozen.  This was taken earlier today. This does not happen every year so tells you the cold has been stronger than normal snap.

Here are my highs and lows over last few days note 3 nights in a row with -4C minimums that is very impressive for these parts. Shaded areas had remained frozen. 

here’s some pictures of very frosty Russia Dock woodland yesterday afternoon around 2.30pm 

 

[Jonathan]

24 minutes ago, PalmSupreme said:

The set up is indeed a Netatmo I keep it in a part of garden where it remains completely in shade in winter. I also have Ecowitt sensors they align pretty closely 

 

Here are my highs and lows over last few days note 3 nights in a row with -4C minimums that is very impressive for these parts. Shaded areas had remained frozen. 

 

That's cold! 

I assume the first column is daily minimum, second is maximum...what are the other two showing us?

The average temps in London on paper are very similar to Hobart in Tasmania, where I live...but the climate is so different it makes my head spin! We never see true cold like that...if the temp drops to 0c with frost, the next day will be sunny and 12c, so I think the weather station minimums give a part of the story, the maximums are very significant too. 

Thanks for posting this, it helps me understand your climate a lot better.

 

[UK_Palms]

@PalmSupreme Greenland Dock is a still/stationary body of water though, unlike the Thames which is flowing. So not too surprising about it getting a thin layer of ice around the edges during a mid-January cold snap, although the fact it is freezing at all is kind of significant. Although it would have done the same in December 2010, Jan-Feb 2013, February 2018, January 2021, December 2022 etc. So it happens every 2-3 years really.

 

Given this is a mid-winter event when the cold prospects are at their best, the minimums haven't actually been too bad. I still think it has been a fairly bog standard mid-winter cold snap for 10-14 days, but nothing even remotely record breaking for 90% of the UK. Certainly more significant up north in Scotland and northern England. But for the south coast and especially the SW it has been a bit of a nothing burger. For us in the southeast and London it has been a proper cold snap, but again nothing out the ordinary by any means for January. A mild 2nd half of the month and the month will finish around average overall, albeit changeable. 

Here's a Washingtonia near you in Rotherhithe. I haven't posted this one on here before. It's on Dean Close. The street view image is 2 and a half years old. Maybe you could snap a photo of it sometime to see how it is doing after the 22/23 winter and this current spell that we have had. I'm guessing it looks normal, but it is also a fair bit bigger now...

 

Not much palms around your area though. Some CIDP's visible in back gardens on street view but not a lot there really. Not in any way weather related, but I think they are just a bit underplanted in Rotherhithe compared to other areas of London.

 

Texas folk better hope that ECM is just on one tonight and won't verify. That's an insane temperature departure from average...

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, UK_Palms said:

Folks in Texas will be watching on anxiously. The 12z ECM is a shocker, almost reminiscent of Feb 2021... 0F showing on it for DFW.

 

@PalmSupreme Fancy seeing you here, Dreamer. Let us know how the CIDP does from being out in a pot during this event. I am intrigued to see whether it took much damage given your minimums and the roots being situated above ground. I still think you should get it in the ground this spring, if you ask me.

Try to grab a small Washingtonia this spring as well if I was you, if the lowest temp you have recorded in a decade or so is only what... -5.5C / 22F...? Washingtonia's are thriving in the capital. They grow better than Tattycarpus. Sorry I mean Trachycarpus. But yeah, get a Washie to go with the CIDP. Welcome to Palmtalk as well lol. 👍

I don't think anyone is anxious if the right palms were planted . January and February are winter months in Texas.  Every single year we see freezes in most parts of Texas and there's absolutely no indicator that it gets nearly as cold as February 2021. Length and type of cold were unique that only happens a couple of times in a century.  While local news sources mentioning another artic front moving towards Texas around the week of 19-25th no one can say where it is going to hit and how severe it gets. We will know more about it later the week until then we enjoy the cold weather that gives us a break from our months long excessive heat. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

The news was showing the wintery scenes and highway crashes from snow and ice in Texas. Looked nasty!

[Arecaceus]

Finally I got some frost. Under clear skies it went down to almost -4°C this morning. When I went to bed at midnight temps were still above zero and apperently they went down slowly up until 8 a.m.. Not much frost on fronds or leaves which at least is good. Sun's out and temps are rising very slowly.

[Foxpalms]

12 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

@PalmSupreme Greenland Dock is a still/stationary body of water though, unlike the Thames which is flowing. So not too surprising about it getting a thin layer of ice around the edges during a mid-January cold snap, although the fact it is freezing at all is kind of significant. Although it would have done the same in December 2010, Jan-Feb 2013, February 2018, January 2021, December 2022 etc. So it happens every 2-3 years really.

 

Given this is a mid-winter event when the cold prospects are at their best, the minimums haven't actually been too bad. I still think it has been a fairly bog standard mid-winter cold snap for 10-14 days, but nothing even remotely record breaking for 90% of the UK. Certainly more significant up north in Scotland and northern England. But for the south coast and especially the SW it has been a bit of a nothing burger. For us in the southeast and London it has been a proper cold snap, but again nothing out the ordinary by any means for January. A mild 2nd half of the month and the month will finish around average overall, albeit changeable. 

Here's a Washingtonia near you in Rotherhithe. I haven't posted this one on here before. It's on Dean Close. The street view image is 2 and a half years old. Maybe you could snap a photo of it sometime to see how it is doing after the 22/23 winter and this current spell that we have had. I'm guessing it looks normal, but it is also a fair bit bigger now...

 

Not much palms around your area though. Some CIDP's visible in back gardens on street view but not a lot there really. Not in any way weather related, but I think they are just a bit underplanted in Rotherhithe compared to other areas of London.

 

Texas folk better hope that ECM is just on one tonight and won't verify. That's an insane temperature departure from average...

With still water multiple frosts with low minimums even of -3 would eventually drop the water temp enough to freeze around the edges. My pond didn't freeze for example. Even hours after the freeze yesterday those two weather stations were still by far the coldest even compared to official metoffice stations nearby. On the other side of closer towards Canada water there are 9b plants including one cordyline fruticosa.

That station often goes invisible on wunderground because the temps are so off all the other nearby stations...

[Mazat]

we had this morning -5.2 °C min. / 22.64 °C  and max. until now 3.2 °C / 37.76 °F at 12.55 pm

we are happy it was not lower.

 

[Mazat]

4 hours ago, Arecaceus said:

Finally I got some frost. Under clear skies it went down to almost -4°C this morning. When I went to bed at midnight temps were still above zero and apperently they went down slowly up until 8 a.m.. Not much frost on fronds or leaves which at least is good. Sun's out and temps are rising very slowly.

the stations here directly at or near the harbor all had low temperatures this morning between -2.7 °C at the harbor directly to -3.3 °C and we -5.2 °C, extreme differences for the fact that it is only a 15-20 minute walk.

[Subtropical LIS]

16 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I don't think anyone is anxious if the right palms were planted . January and February are winter months in Texas.  Every single year we see freezes in most parts of Texas and there's absolutely no indicator that it gets nearly as cold as February 2021. Length and type of cold were unique that only happens a couple of times in a century.  While local news sources mentioning another artic front moving towards Texas around the week of 19-25th no one can say where it is going to hit and how severe it gets. We will know more about it later the week until then we enjoy the cold weather that gives us a break from our months long excessive heat. 

It also matters what model you want to think is correct - 10 days from now. 

Looking at this mornings runs, several models show a modest cold shot pointed at the middle of the mainland in and out by the January 20 - 22nd time frame. The coldest morning of this cold shot now looks to be on the 20th. However, the freezing line never makes it to the Gulf Of Mexico. So there would be upper 20's F in north Texas ...San Antonio forecast low of 34 F...and mid 30's F along the coast:

 

 If that ends up the case (not real sure what your zone is?) but I would guess you would fall into your typical annual zone lows.

What I always find amazing about Texas is how quick you can (and often do) see warm to even hot temps right after a cold snap. That seems the case this time as well. Some of the models are showing mid 70's F  into south Texas a few days later. It's amazing some climate zones don't see 70's F until June, and Texas sees them often in January - lol:

 

[Matthew92]

59 minutes ago, Subtropical LIS said:

It also matters what model you want to think is correct - 10 days from now. 

Looking at this mornings runs, several models show a modest cold shot pointed at the middle of the mainland in and out by the January 20 - 22nd time frame. The coldest morning of this cold shot now looks to be on the 20th. However, the freezing line never makes it to the Gulf Of Mexico. So there would be upper 20's F in north Texas ...San Antonio forecast low of 34 F...and mid 30's F along the coast:

 If that ends up the case (not real sure what your zone is?) but I would guess you would fall into your typical annual zone lows.

What I always find amazing about Texas is how quick you can (and often do) see warm to even hot temps right after a cold snap. That seems the case this time as well. Some of the models are showing mid 70's F  into south Texas a few days later. It's amazing some climate zones don't see 70's F until June, and Texas sees them often in January - lol:

Of the two main models, GFS has been warmer lately and Euro colder. 

[kristof p]

so far we (Coastal Belguim) had a few nights with subzero temps around -1°C but tonight could be the coldest night so far this winter with -4°C forecasted. I hope the Butia seeds survive coming night as -4°C is normally the temperature they start dying off.

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, Subtropical LIS said:

It also matters what model you want to think is correct - 10 days from now. 

Looking at this mornings runs, several models show a modest cold shot pointed at the middle of the mainland in and out by the January 20 - 22nd time frame. The coldest morning of this cold shot now looks to be on the 20th. However, the freezing line never makes it to the Gulf Of Mexico. So there would be upper 20's F in north Texas ...San Antonio forecast low of 34 F...and mid 30's F along the coast:

 

 If that ends up the case (not real sure what your zone is?) but I would guess you would fall into your typical annual zone lows.

What I always find amazing about Texas is how quick you can (and often do) see warm to even hot temps right after a cold snap. That seems the case this time as well. Some of the models are showing mid 70's F  into south Texas a few days later. It's amazing some climate zones don't see 70's F until June, and Texas sees them often in January - lol:

 

AccuWeather app predicts low of 19f on Tuesday next week. We all know what to think of those apps with their accuracy.  Even if that would be the case I'm not going to be concerned just have to deal with leaf burn on my Robusta.  All my other palms will see zero to minor leaf damage.  If temps get below 15f that's where I'm going to wake up. I'm in zone , well they call it 9a , I think it's safer to say it's a 8b (San Antonio).. it's amazing how quickly temperatures warm up in the late morning , I also think that's why palms survive so easily because our ultimate lows are very short.

[Arecaceus]

4 hours ago, Mazat said:

the stations here directly at or near the harbor all had low temperatures this morning between -2.7 °C at the harbor directly to -3.3 °C and we -5.2 °C, extreme differences for the fact that it is only a 15-20 minute walk.

Yes temperatures can vary a lot within small distances. Espescially next to water, in big cities or at different elevations.