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Possible Florida Freeze - January


RedRabbit

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Why is Florida always so magically warm? The SE ridge always protects it; why isn't there an equivalent ridge in Southern Mexico, which can come up to protect Texas?

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4 minutes ago, AnTonY said:

Why is Florida always so magically warm? The SE ridge always protects it; why isn't there an equivalent ridge in Southern Mexico, which can come up to protect Texas?

I don't believe Fl is so magically warm. Hell, most of Fl has ultimate lows well below our lows here in CA at 800 miles north. South Fl however, yeah, they have latitude/surrounded by water to moderate things big time.

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57 minutes ago, AnTonY said:

Why is Florida always so magically warm? The SE ridge always protects it; why isn't there an equivalent ridge in Southern Mexico, which can come up to protect Texas?

   Here is some stats for   Daytona Beach in   January.

When the door opens from all the way to North Canada , we get slammed . This weekend is just a run of the mill cold front overall for

this area.  South Florida does better , but when it's on , it's on.....

 

24490663765_65b9b63752_b.jpgDaytona January by Bill H, on Flickr

 

 

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I had a low of 38 this morning in Cape Coral, about 4 degrees colder than forecasted. Should be warmer tonight, hopefully.

Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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It only made it to 51F today, but a slight breeze has picked up now so perhaps, that will hold temps up. Otherwise, if it calms, then we are in for a real cold night. Then the warmup begins. They missed this by 4-6 degrees easy. However, about a week ago I did mention about the "dip" coming. It appears the pattern is 7-10 days of warmups then a coldpunch, then warmer.....<_<

Begonias are my thing. I've been growing and selling them for three decades, nearly two in Tampa Bay. NPR is an bhour N of St Pete, coast

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4 minutes ago, gsytch said:

It only made it to 51F today, but a slight breeze has picked up now so perhaps, that will hold temps up. Otherwise, if it calms, then we are in for a real cold night. Then the warmup begins. They missed this by 4-6 degrees easy. However, about a week ago I did mention about the "dip" coming. It appears the pattern is 7-10 days of warmups then a coldpunch, then warmer.....<_<

We made it to 64F today, that is what makes the difference being here in South Florida instead of Central FL.

Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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More concerned with tonight than last night. No clouds! Non warm up during the day. Can tolerate between 30 and 32 no damage here, but depends on duration. 

Tampa, Florida

Zone - 10a

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Low this morning on the Isabelle Canal: 40.5F

Today was sunny and in the low 60s but the winds are howling.

Forecast low tonight: 44F

On the plus side, if anything, we got 0.7" of badly needed rain

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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1 hour ago, Alan_Tampa said:

More concerned with tonight than last night. No clouds! Non warm up during the day. Can tolerate between 30 and 32 no damage here, but depends on duration. 

Did it freeze at your place last night? I had 31.6 (open yard) and MacDill AFB also had 32, but most locations I checked on Wunderground were more like 33-34f. 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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No, appears to not have froze. Sentinel plants look okay. 

Chaya, Spanish needle, papaya, if they look cooked spinach, trouble. No cooked spinach look, no problem!

 

I gave up measuring long ago. Without a proper Stevenson screen,  you get scary low temps that aren't real.

 

Been meaning to set something up for a while now!

I go by how things look and feel. Also, use wundermaps, but I am suspect of some of those readings also. 

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Tampa, Florida

Zone - 10a

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1 hour ago, Alan_Tampa said:

I gave up measuring long ago. Without a proper Stevenson screen,  you get scary low temps that aren't real.

 

Been meaning to set something up for a while now!

I go by how things look and feel. Also, use wundermaps, but I am suspect of some of those readings also. 

By how many degrees do the readings vary from real temps without using a Stevenson screen?

By your comment, it seems without a Stevenson screem temps read much lower than what they really are.

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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2 hours ago, Alan_Tampa said:

No, appears to not have froze. Sentinel plants look okay. 

Chaya, Spanish needle, papaya, if they look cooked spinach, trouble. No cooked spinach look, no problem!

 

I gave up measuring long ago. Without a proper Stevenson screen,  you get scary low temps that aren't real.

 

Been meaning to set something up for a while now!

I go by how things look and feel. Also, use wundermaps, but I am suspect of some of those readings also. 

You make some very good points. I've thought a lot about this before and concluded thermometers are only useful in comparing one day relative to another. You just don't get precise numbers and you can't really compare with other people on Wunderground since placement makes a huge difference... Still though, it is fun to keep track of it even if it isn't meaningful. LOL

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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Kind of blindsided by this cold snap while I was on a trip over the weekend.

Wasn't putting much mental effort at the possibility of a damaging freeze at my house. The forecast low when I left Friday was 26 which is significant but not damaging for important things like my citrus. Moved all tender stuff in greenhouse or indoors before leaving.

It was 11 degrees at St. Louis upon arrival- ouch. I really enjoyed it though and especially the very light cover of snow on the ground. 

Got back, and was somewhat horrified to see my weather station show 22 degrees as the low this morning. Went in the backyard with a flashlight. All annuals are annihilated. Bananas are toast. All leaves on the Strelitzia nicolai (White bird of paradise) will probably need to be cut off completely (shouldn't lose the plant to the ground though). Citrus leaves slightly curled.

Yep, well, it happened- no mild winter a second time in a row. Actually pretty thankful so far. I consider 22 a sort of cut off point below which is very damaging. 

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Opal92 said:

Kind of blindsided by this cold snap while I was on a trip over the weekend.

Wasn't putting much mental effort at the possibility of a damaging freeze at my house. The forecast low when I left Friday was 26 which is significant but not damaging for important things like my citrus. Moved all tender stuff in greenhouse or indoors before leaving.

It was 11 degrees at St. Louis upon arrival- ouch. I really enjoyed it though and especially the very light cover of snow on the ground. 

Got back, and was somewhat horrified to see my weather station show 22 degrees as the low this morning. Went in the backyard with a flashlight. All annuals are annihilated. Bananas are toast. All leaves on the Strelitzia nicolai (White bird of paradise) will probably need to be cut off completely (shouldn't lose the plant to the ground though). Citrus leaves slightly curled.

Yep, well, it happened- no mild winter a second time in a row. Actually pretty thankful so far. I consider 22 a sort of cut off point below which is very damaging. 

 

 

Wow, 22f is pretty cold! Sorry to hear that happened. When is the last time it was that cold there?

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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17 hours ago, NorCalKing said:

I don't believe Fl is so magically warm. Hell, most of Fl has ultimate lows well below our lows here in CA at 800 miles north. South Fl however, yeah, they have latitude/surrounded by water to moderate things big time.

 

16 hours ago, Bill H2DB said:

   Here is some stats for   Daytona Beach in   January.

When the door opens from all the way to North Canada , we get slammed . This weekend is just a run of the mill cold front overall for

this area.  South Florida does better , but when it's on , it's on.....

 

24490663765_65b9b63752_b.jpgDaytona January by Bill H, on Flickr

 

 

True about record lows in CA vs FL; indeed, Florida can get hit pretty hard. However, I was referring to it in relation to the rest of the South; there are plenty of times the peninsula (and far north on it too) is basking in 80-90F heat, while the rest of the South is in the deep freezer; basically, no penetration whatsoever. The way the differentials are suggest something greater than just simple water-moderation, probably a Caribbean Ridge of sorts.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Gulf, the cold fronts just drive right down to even Tampico, with no stop; I just don't know what atmospheric dynamics prevent a Caribbean Ridge type-feature from jutting into Southern Mexico, allowing that place, and Texas, to be walled of from cold, at least for a turn.

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Temps held steady through the night, reaching 40F at midnight but now 38F at 6am. Now the warmup begins. Looks like 75-80F statring Tuesday but with the GOM recently chilled, I'm curious to see how that cooling seabreeze affects my yard...a mile away I am. Amazing! GOM went from 71F to 58F just over the weekend. :o

Begonias are my thing. I've been growing and selling them for three decades, nearly two in Tampa Bay. NPR is an bhour N of St Pete, coast

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38.1 in the garden this morning. Better than expected. :)

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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10 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Wow, 22f is pretty cold! Sorry to hear that happened. When is the last time it was that cold there?

2 winters ago was 18 degrees for us. However, for the winters I've been here since 2007: minus 2010, 2014, and 2015 it didn't get below 9a. Below that 9a cut off, things like CIDPs, Washingtonia start getting seriously burned.

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I see the temp got around 37 in Kissimmee yesterday morning. If I figure right, the last time it got that cold was 2 winters ago in February.

I wonder how much longer before the Orlando area has an actual freeze? I was just marveling at weather history for Kissimmee. I can't imagine the carnage temps like this would bring with all the tropicals there now.

January 8th: 1970- 26 deg

January 9th: 1970: 27 deg

January 10th: 1970: 25 deg

January 11th: 1970: 28 deg

January 12th: 1982: 23 deg

January 13th: 1981: 21 deg

January 14th: 1981: 21 deg

January 15th: 1982: 28 deg

January 16th: 1982: 23 deg

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Sorry, can't figure out the qoute thing, but without a thermometer or thermistor properly set up, in an exposed location it can vary widely from the true value, as much as 5F. Maybe more.

That's why I us the FAWN site, or average of several nearby wundermap stations.  

I once measured 22F in an open part of the yard with just a remote sensor in the open,  one in protected spot was reading 30F. I had no damage that year,  22F would have shredded most of my stuff!

Tampa, Florida

Zone - 10a

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Low this morning: 44.8F

I hope the warmup begins tomorrow. All this cold is making my bronchitis worse.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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Went down to 34.5.  Had a few little drops of ice on the top of the windshield.  The warmup is much appreciated.

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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17 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Went down to 34.5.  Had a few little drops of ice on the top of the windshield.  The warmup is much appreciated.

34.5 this morning? 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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11 hours ago, Opal92 said:

I see the temp got around 37 in Kissimmee yesterday morning. If I figure right, the last time it got that cold was 2 winters ago in February.

I wonder how much longer before the Orlando area has an actual freeze? I was just marveling at weather history for Kissimmee. I can't imagine the carnage temps like this would bring with all the tropicals there now.

January 8th: 1970- 26 deg

January 9th: 1970: 27 deg

January 10th: 1970: 25 deg

January 11th: 1970: 28 deg

January 12th: 1982: 23 deg

January 13th: 1981: 21 deg

January 14th: 1981: 21 deg

January 15th: 1982: 28 deg

January 16th: 1982: 23 deg

Wow those are low, and all within a short period of time to boot. It'd be rare to get that cold once every 5 years now. I live near Kissimmee so your right. When I got started with palm trees I assumed the Foxtails, Arecas, Bottles, etc. we're all native to this part of Florida because there's so many of them. Half of the stuff they sell at the hardware stores would die with temperatures like that. That being said I wonder if the city's heat island effect has an effect on keeping the temps warmer than the 70s/80s? Much of Osceola County back then was rural farmland, now South Orlando's suburbs have begun to grow into it. 

Edited by ThePalmNovice
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Low this morning: 52.3F

Now 72.5F. Heat wave!

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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On 1/9/2017, 6:53:49, Opal92 said:

I see the temp got around 37 in Kissimmee yesterday morning. If I figure right, the last time it got that cold was 2 winters ago in February.

I wonder how much longer before the Orlando area has an actual freeze? I was just marveling at weather history for Kissimmee. I can't imagine the carnage temps like this would bring with all the tropicals there now.

January 8th: 1970- 26 deg

January 9th: 1970: 27 deg

January 10th: 1970: 25 deg

January 11th: 1970: 28 deg

January 12th: 1982: 23 deg

January 13th: 1981: 21 deg

January 14th: 1981: 21 deg

January 15th: 1982: 28 deg

January 16th: 1982: 23 deg

Ouch that is cold!

Winters in Ohio those same years (especially 1981 and 1982) were unusually warm.

 

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On 1/9/2017, 8:24:43, RedRabbit said:

34.5 this morning? 

The previous morning.  My mistake.

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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It has been a few days since that minor freeze and all my palms look perfect still. This was expected, though I was slightly concerned about a young royal. 

I drove past some nearby coconuts today and they looked about 25% bronzed. 

If this is the worst the 16-17 winter has in store for us I'll be thankful. 

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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2 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

It has been a few days since that minor freeze and all my palms look perfect still. This was expected, though I was slightly concerned about a young royal. 

I drove past some nearby coconuts today and they looked about 25% bronzed. 

If this is the worst the 16-17 winter has in store for us I'll be thankful. 

No freeze yet on our coast :-) 

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20 minutes ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

No freeze yet on our coast :-) 

With the microclimate you have in place it is a wonder it ever freezes there. LOL

 

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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What area are you located in Tampa? Our lowest temp here on the lakefront was 36f so thankfully no freeze.

NW Hillsborough County, FL (Near Tampa)

10 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico

Border of Zone 9b/10a

Lakefront Microclimate

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1 hour ago, tropical1 said:

What area are you located in Tampa? Our lowest temp here on the lakefront was 36f so thankfully no freeze.

Your reading of 36f is a little surprising, is that out in the open or next to the house?

I'm by Gunn and Dale Mabry. My thermometer out in the open recorded 31.6f, but the one in the lanai had 34. By comparison, MacDill had 32f, TIA 34f, and Knight Airport on Davis Island had 35f. 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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its near house but not under a lanai or overhang.  we are in a very good microclimate (elevation plus deep lake and canopy). I did note a weather station on a neighboring lake was 34f for low which may be more in open. The plants tell story better, heliconias and bananas still green, lychee blooming. I did have an areca macrocalyx in a protected spot and it was not too happy, but I think they don't like anything below 40. quick trip back to 80s. Even if you recorded 31.6 in open I am sure duration was very short,

NW Hillsborough County, FL (Near Tampa)

10 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico

Border of Zone 9b/10a

Lakefront Microclimate

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3 hours ago, tropical1 said:

its near house but not under a lanai or overhang.  we are in a very good microclimate (elevation plus deep lake and canopy). I did note a weather station on a neighboring lake was 34f for low which may be more in open. The plants tell story better, heliconias and bananas still green, lychee blooming. I did have an areca macrocalyx in a protected spot and it was not too happy, but I think they don't like anything below 40. quick trip back to 80s. Even if you recorded 31.6 in open I am sure duration was very short,

That does sound like a nice microclimate of yours. I hope to see some garden pics one day. :) 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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I drive past another nearby coconut yesterday and it was 60% burnt. Nothing else, bananas and adonidias included, have shown any damage.

Its remarkable coconuts can take so much damage from such a mild freeze.

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have a decent cold front making its way south over the peninsula. Nightly lows in the 40s through Tuesday morning. Monday night is forecast to be clear, dry and no wind so Tuesday morning may flirt with mid-high 30s. 

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4 hours ago, IHB1979 said:

47 and rain at 8am this morning. 

This is miserable weather :-( I feel like I'm in Northern California.

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5 hours ago, IHB1979 said:

47 and rain at 8am this morning. 

48.2 was the lowest I recorded this morning. That's the first time I ever recall having a higher low temp than Merritt Island. LOL

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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51 at 6:45 this morning. Don't think we got above 52 for a high yesterday. Not sure we ever actually dropped below 50 at any point. I hate this cola :-(

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