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Persistent Cold Air in Florida


gsytch

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Warming a tad, but still only 54.4 at 12:40pm.

It was supposed to at least warm to the middle 50's today, but by the looks of my plot, me thinks its going to top out in the middle 40's......again!

post-200-1263234326_thumb.png

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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And weather.com is now saying 32F tonight and 33F tomorrow night (toehrs say a few degrees higher, but not much)............I will never complain about summer heat ever again!

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Record Report

Statement as of 7:40 am EST on January 11, 2010

... Record low temperature set in Key West...

The temperature at Key West Airport dropped to 42 degrees at 455 am

on Monday January 11th. This set a new record low temperature for

the date. The previous record was 48 degrees set in 1970.

This was also the second coldest temperature ever recorded in Key

West... with weather records dating back to 1873. The all time record

low temperature in Key West is 41 degrees... which has occurred

twice... on January 13th 1981... and January 12th 1886.

TEMP. JAN. 21/10 C (69/50 F), AUG. 29/20 C (84/68 F). COASTAL DESERT, MOST DAYS MILD OR WARM, SUNNY AND DRY. YEARLY PRECIPITATION: 210 MM (8.2 INCHES). ZONE 11 NO FREEZES CLOSE TO THE OCEAN.

5845d02ceb988_3-copia.jpg.447ccc2a7cc4c6

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Record Report

Statement as of 7:40 am EST on January 11, 2010

... Record low temperature set in Key West...

The temperature at Key West Airport dropped to 42 degrees at 455 am

on Monday January 11th. This set a new record low temperature for

the date. The previous record was 48 degrees set in 1970.

This was also the second coldest temperature ever recorded in Key

West... with weather records dating back to 1873. The all time record

low temperature in Key West is 41 degrees... which has occurred

twice... on January 13th 1981... and January 12th 1886.

I may be pushing up daisies by the time this cold stops!:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/11/...ing-scientists/

Mad about palms

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Didn't go below 32 outside my house until about 6:30AM. Then within 15 minutes it was down to 29. Did not rebound back to 32 until about 8:15. Then was climbing all day with 52 right now. Everything is still wrapped up. Larger palms I have are all hardy enough for this. The only plants I think I lost are my wife's ground orchids. We forgot about them until last night, and the leaves were all black by then.

Observation: If Dypsis lutescens weren't so popular, my neighborhood wouldn't look so depressing right now.

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We bottomed at 34.6F & my betelnuts are toast!

Mine look similar, but kind of high to get that good of a look at. Did you have frost? Probably not huh? I did not and mine still look similar to this already. How old/large are yours? Mine probably have about 10-12' of wood and I had hoped that with age they might become a tad more cold tolerant, but they consistently seem to get pretty beat up during winter, but come back fine with warmth and water.

:hmm::hmm: Where are you two taking this thread? :hmm::hmm::lol:

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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When I got home from work tonight I had a chance to tour the yard. The covered stuff will stay that way for the next few days, but I could see initial damage on uncovered stuff. Both my yellow Malayan and red spicata coconuts have cold damage on their leaves: blotchy, brownish bronze areas that appear to be spreading. I hope their growing points survived. The Archonotophoenix alexandrae, Veitchia arecina and Adonidias show the same damage. Their leaves are "rolling up" cigar-like and are starting to turn brittle. My two Kentiopsis oliviformis have yellow spots on their leaves but they were partly shielded by my queens. My larger Coccothrinax crinita shows pale frostbitten splotches on its fronds while leaflets are curling under and losing their suppleness. Other Coccothrinax show leaf damage but not as bad as the crinita. Once again, I'm hoping this damage is mostly cosmetic and while the palms may look raggedy by spring, they will come back with new growth.

I didn't take photos because this damage is ongoing and I expect it to increase. Tonight's low may drop close to freezing which will make bad situations even worse. We had heavy frost this morning (28.5F) and expect more frost tonight. Afraid this is far from over.

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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When I got home from work tonight I had a chance to tour the yard. The covered stuff will stay that way for the next few days, but I could see initial damage on uncovered stuff. Both my yellow Malayan and red spicata coconuts have cold damge on their leaves: blotchy, brownish bronze areas that appear to be spreading. I hope their growing points survived. The Archonotophoenix alexandrae, Veitchia arecina and Adonidias show the same damage. Their leaves are "rolling up" cigar-like and are starting to turn brittle. My two Kentiopsis oliviformis have yellow spots on their leaves but they were partly shielded by my queens. My larger Coccothrinax crinita shows pale frostbitten splotches on its fronds while leaflets are curling under and losing their suppleness. Other Coccothrinax show leaf damage but not as bad as the crinita. Once again, I'm hoping this damage is mostly cosmetic and while the palms may look raggedy by spring, they will come back with new growth.

I didn't take photos because this damage is ongoing and I expect it to increase. Tonight's low may drop close to freezing which will make bad situations even worse. We had heavy frost this morning (28.5F) and expect more frost tonight. Afraid this is far from over.

One more night Meg, they promise us! (Not too much better here w/ coconuts.) Your center coconut spear should be fine, Meg, I betting on.

Paul

Paul, The Palm Doctor @ http://www.thewisegardener.com

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I'm curious to see how alot of the Dypsis Decaryii's did.... I've found them to be SUPER cold-hardy.. I left one outside here in a pot that was kinda ragged and it stayed green till February last year.... It only started to show cold damage below 19f.

Bobby

Long Island, New York  Zone 7a (where most of the southern Floridians are originally from)

AVERAGE TEMPS

Summer Highs  : 85-90f/day,  68-75f / night

Winter Lows     : 38-45f/day,   25-35f / night

Extreme Low    : 10-20f/day,    0-10f / night   but VERY RARE

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35.4 at 0522, seems to be in keeping with a station just North of me....sure it's going to drop like a rock but i'll have to wait until tonight to see, off to work at 0530...keeping the fingers crossed.

Rusty

Rusty-

Pine Island is proving its worth tonight....the station on Bokeelia is reading the warmest out of any I can see on the west coast (outside of marine stations located at sea). Granted, its only 36F, but hey, thats good this morning!

Larry, i bottomed out at 34.5, no idea what time i just have a Min/Max digital....the station on WunderMap just north of me recorded 35.1 at it's lowest..... I have some stuff that will cark it but that's a 'my bad' and oh well....i consider myself to be VERY fortunate!

Rusty

Rusty Bell

Pine Island - the Ex-Pat part of Lee County, Fl , USA

Zone 10b, life in the subs!...except when it isn't....

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forecast tonight for Titusville

w/underground - 29F

weather.com ---- 29F

NWS -------------- 32F

tomorrow night a BALMY 34F from all 3!!!, is that a first, ALL having the exact same forecast?? :mrlooney:

However tomorrow nights forecast could be revised DOWN below freezing at 6:00 PM or so tomorrow!!! :hmm:

Edited by gsn

Scott

Titusville, FL

1/2 mile from the Indian River

USDA Zone COLD

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bobby, I haven't checked Palmtalk's cold damage forum for Dypsis decaryi, but Eric Schmidt's "Palms for Central Florida" gives it a 27 degree rating. The lowest he goes is 5 F for Sabal minor and Rhapidophyllum hystrix (noting that both have survived even colder temperatures).

Dypsis decaryi likes well-drained sites (i.e. it doesn't like irrigation in Florida) and it seems to recover spectacularly from abuse--a guy in my neighborhood brought in a large, unhealthy one, and it's been growing new roots from the lower trunk.

I haven't seen any really tall ones locally, so I suspect the 23 degrees of the 1989 freeze were fatal.

I was out in the yard this afternoon. The cold here has been very similar to Orlando, with the worst night of freezing-or-below temperatures being 9 hours, bottoming twice at 28-29. Wind has seemingly prevented frost pocket effects, though I suspect that neighborhoods with shade trees are a bit warmer than those without.

Like Eric at Leu, I've seen little serious palm damage, other than to Satakentia liukiuensis, which browned badly, somewhat worse than coconut palms in the neighborhood. I'm seeing some damage to ixoras and hibiscuses, and the grass is brown, but in general things look good. I think the orchids growing on oak trunks will be fine. Even some possibly-sensitive Central American Zamia cycads look fine.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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I may be pushing up daisies by the time this cold stops!:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/11/...ing-scientists/

Interesting article. It's funny how even though this expert acknowledges the scientific plausability of truth on both sides of the cooling/warming argument, I doubt anyone on this board is going to be "happy" about hearing they were "right." Cold is cold, whether a short-term blip, or a long-term trend. That being said, just watch one of those shows about the universe on History Channel; last night I saw the one about how the Milky Way and Andromeda are speeding towards an ultimate collision with one another, and it kind of makes any consideration about "permanence" (of our plants, zone designations, etc.) seem pointless.

Driving around my neighborhood in the Seminole/Tyrone area of St. Pete, it makes me wish I wasn't colorblind, and least for a moment. I have this sneaking suspicion that all these dypsis and coconuts that appear "normal" to me are actually brown, and I won't know for sure that something's wrong until the fronds completely shrivel up. Haven't yet seen any mass defoliation of schefflera like in January '03, but that, too, may be still to come.

Eric

St. Petersburg, FL

www.myspace.com/koolthing78

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I may be pushing up daisies by the time this cold stops!:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/11/...ing-scientists/

Interesting article. It's funny how even though this expert acknowledges the scientific plausability of truth on both sides of the cooling/warming argument, I doubt anyone on this board is going to be "happy" about hearing they were "right." Cold is cold, whether a short-term blip, or a long-term trend. That being said, just watch one of those shows about the universe on History Channel; last night I saw the one about how the Milky Way and Andromeda are speeding towards an ultimate collision with one another, and it kind of makes any consideration about "permanence" (of our plants, zone designations, etc.) seem pointless.

Driving around my neighborhood in the Seminole/Tyrone area of St. Pete, it makes me wish I wasn't colorblind, and least for a moment. I have this sneaking suspicion that all these dypsis and coconuts that appear "normal" to me are actually brown, and I won't know for sure that something's wrong until the fronds completely shrivel up. Haven't yet seen any mass defoliation of schefflera like in January '03, but that, too, may be still to come.

It'll be 3 weeks at the least, and many months on some things, before we know the true damage done.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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I don't have a good feeling about tonight,at least for here... the only bright spot I see right now is the dew points haven't fallen off the charts, which is good/bad ,it will keep the temps warmer but FROST will probably be a problem with the high dew point...hopefully I am WRONG!

It has already dropped to 36.6F at 7:30 PM and falling faster than last night,hopefully it will stabalize here shortly and stay above 32 until late tonight early morning?

The wind is dead calm, clear skies, ripe for a radiational event! :rage:

Edited by gsn

Scott

Titusville, FL

1/2 mile from the Indian River

USDA Zone COLD

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And weather.com is now saying 32F tonight and 33F tomorrow night (toehrs say a few degrees higher, but not much)............I will never complain about summer heat ever again!

Me either Larry, nor the humidity. My lips are as chapped as the palm fronds are wind burned. :mrlooney:

We didn't get as warm as forecast today either, so probably going to be a bit cooler tonight, than originally forecast, as well. Weather.com is saying 35F now, so yet another cold night on tap. Completely calm and crystal clear sky tonight. :angry:

Royal Palm Beach, FL.

USDA Zone 10A/10B Subtropical

26.7 degrees N. latitude

10 miles West of West Palm Beach and the ocean

Avg. yearly rainfall 58 inches

:cool:

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I've lived in Orlando for 30 yrs and this is the absolute longest spell of cold weather thats occured. It was colder lows in '83,85, and 89 but never this long of a cold. I'm rather impressed though what must now be the heat island protection in Orlando now.

Totally agree. I've been here since '70, except for a 2-year fiasco up north and 3 blessed years in S. FL - and I have never seen a cold spell this long. The damage to the plants has less to do with the actual lows than with the length the plants have gone through damaging lows with NO warmup - for days at a stretch.

Hey Scott - like you, I get a bad feeling about tonight. Coming home from work it was so d__n cold I still can't warm up.

I just heard a report on TWC that Orlando had ice on the roads that caused a wreck. Suggestion - take the accident report and smack Al Bore with it!!!

St. Pete

Zone - a wacked-out place between 9b & 10

Elevation = 44' - not that it does any good

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Yikes!!!

Guys, I just heard on TWC that:

"Progress Energy reports that they have reached their limit for energy consumption in Central FL before resorting to ROLLING BLACKOUTS! ....just like '89.

oh no. not that again :rage::rage::rage:

St. Pete

Zone - a wacked-out place between 9b & 10

Elevation = 44' - not that it does any good

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At 8:15 pm there was frost on the roof of my car. At 9:40 wunderground has Seminole at 32.9 degrees, with a forecast low of "mid 30's." Hmmmm...

Already middle 30's at my house :unsure:

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Clearwater/St. Pete AP showing 31F at this hour!?!?!? Something seems weird about that.

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Our school superintendent called all students and teachers to inform us that there is a possibility power will not be at full. Therefore, wear extra warm clothing in case schools are not heated well. FYI Already 32F now. Hmmm lower 30's was the forecast. Greg

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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I got down to 33.3F at around 8:00 then had a little bump up...and seem to be holding around 34.6F for the time being over here!!! But it was dropping fast before that!!!

Edited by gsn

Scott

Titusville, FL

1/2 mile from the Indian River

USDA Zone COLD

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Our school superintendent called all students and teachers to inform us that there is a possibility power will not be at full. Therefore, wear extra warm clothing in case schools are not heated well. FYI Already 32F now. Hmmm lower 30's was the forecast. Greg

Greg-

This is looking rough unless something changes.

I did note that the three stations on Clearwater Beach, and the station in Holiday at the Gulf are all showing middle 40's and have been rising. So, perhaps there is some flow coming our way off the water?

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Thought this was interesting... what a difference 5 months can make...

house-comp-1.jpg

Those arent the same house. The one on the left is Florida and the other one is the same model house built in Wisconsin.

:mrlooney:

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Someone also brought the same truck and boat to Wisconsin.

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Clearwater/St. Pete AP showing 31F at this hour!?!?!? Something seems weird about that.

Larry, that A. engleri you gave me is really getting a test. It was just starting to recover from the bareroot move, and was looking on the rise this summer. We'll see if it can survive 3 nights near 20 degrees. It was looking OK yesterday, but last night was just totally brutal.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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Clearwater/St. Pete AP showing 31F at this hour!?!?!? Something seems weird about that.

Larry, that A. engleri you gave me is really getting a test. It was just starting to recover from the bareroot move, and was looking on the rise this summer. We'll see if it can survive 3 nights near 20 degrees. It was looking OK yesterday, but last night was just totally brutal.

Regardless, that things a trooper just to survive the move!

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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I see the weathermen have cheated again and revised all their forecasts down once they saw it was not looking good!

NWS is sill sticking with 35F (which it currently is now), while weather.com and weatherunderground.com have revised to upper 20's.

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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What is going on, my temp is actually rising, rather than just holding steady ...up to 35.2F now from a low of 33.3F????

This a prime example of the variables, whatever they may be, of predicting weather... :mrlooney:

Edited by gsn

Scott

Titusville, FL

1/2 mile from the Indian River

USDA Zone COLD

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Someone also brought the same truck and boat to Wisconsin.
That flats boat looks kinda odd up in Wisconsin, don't it? :winkie:

We are currently sitting at 29.5 at 10:45 pm. :hmm:

Zone 9 Central Florida

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Ok, here's perspective :

Right Now for

Tampa, FL Clear 34°F

Melville, NY Cloudy 32°F

Nome, AK Fair 7°F

Bobby

Long Island, New York  Zone 7a (where most of the southern Floridians are originally from)

AVERAGE TEMPS

Summer Highs  : 85-90f/day,  68-75f / night

Winter Lows     : 38-45f/day,   25-35f / night

Extreme Low    : 10-20f/day,    0-10f / night   but VERY RARE

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Clearwater/St. Pete AP showing 31F at this hour!?!?!? Something seems weird about that.

I saw that too, but everything else is much warmer. Something amiss?

Jon

Brooksville, FL 9a

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Flats boat? Some Brevard County people went to Scotland in a flats boat this summer. They could have made a left turn at Nova Scotia and gone to Wisconsin instead.

Here in Vero, the temperature near 11 pm is 40, with NWS not expecting it to drop further. So tomorrow morning, the palms and orchids in the dining room go back outside.

Word tonight from the Tropiflora nursery near Sarasota is that they're doing OK. I've got a couple more of their bromeliads for the yard.

I should have pictures of damage to Satakentia liukiuensis tomorrow. Most everything else in the yard seems to have come through in good shape. Even some of the heliconias may be in sufficiently good shape to leave standing.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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Word tonight from the Tropiflora nursery near Sarasota is that they're doing OK. I've got a couple more of their bromeliads for the yard.

I should have pictures of damage to Satakentia liukiuensis tomorrow. Most everything else in the yard seems to have come through in good shape. Even some of the heliconias may be in sufficiently good shape to leave standing.

Glad to hear Tropiflora is getting through this ok. We enjoy their twice-a-year sales, and have picked up some nice things there, too.

Good luck with your Satakentia! Beautiful palms, I hope yours will be ok.

Currently 35F at my house, but frost all over the cars. :angry:

St. Pete

Zone - a wacked-out place between 9b & 10

Elevation = 44' - not that it does any good

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I just heard a report on TWC that Orlando had ice on the roads that caused a wreck. Suggestion - take the accident report and smack Al Bore with it!!!

I saw that one on my way to work driving down Kirkman Rd. A rather odd scene. A cop car blocking 2 lanes that were covered in ice (probably something leaking overnight from a nearby business). Three rear-ended cars on the business parking lot. Three women standing and looking back at the scene, on their cellphones. Only the centermost lane was open and everyone of us had to negotiate our way in between frozen patches. :unsure:

Frank

 

Zone 9b pine flatlands

humid/hot summers; dry/cool winters

with yearly freezes

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I don't have a good feeling about tonight,at least for here... the only bright spot I see right now is the dew points haven't fallen off the charts, which is good/bad ,it will keep the temps warmer but FROST will probably be a problem with the high dew point...hopefully I am WRONG!

It has already dropped to 36.6F at 7:30 PM and falling faster than last night,hopefully it will stabalize here shortly and stay above 32 until late tonight early morning?

The wind is dead calm, clear skies, ripe for a radiational event! :rage:

Unfortunately I wasn't WRONG :rage: ...2:30 AM and I've already dropped to 28.8 F....

there is only one place it can go from here, DOWN... how far is anyones guess at this point... 8:30 AM is still a long way off...

Scott

Titusville, FL

1/2 mile from the Indian River

USDA Zone COLD

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We're looking pretty cool in Vero and Ft Pierce. 34 near 3 am.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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