Florida

[bubba]

Dec.27, 2010-Palm Beach Inlet-70F./Low temperature 38F./ This cold is for the birds! Ray and Rusty, I certainly hope you are correct!

[displaced_floridian]

After these last 2 winters, we'll probably have to redraw the limits of where coconut trees can grow with no interventions. 5 nights in the 30s at PBI, with min of 32. Stuart has had 27 already. The E coast seems to be getting it worse than the W coast this year.

[edbrown_III]

After these last 2 winters, we'll probably have to redraw the limits of where coconut trees can grow with no interventions. 5 nights in the 30s at PBI, with min of 32. Stuart has had 27 already. The E coast seems to be getting it worse than the W coast this year.

38F here in Jax

[bubba]

Dec. 28, 2010-Palm Beach Inlet-70F/low temp.-40F.

Seond day of a cold front. Coconuts are taking a beating and you can see yellowing at the tips of fronds.The problem is that Coconuts discontinue photosynthesis at temps under 50F. and although we have had no freeze, the constant long-term cold is not good.That is amazing that it was 38F in Jacksonville yesterday.No question the cold air has been funneling more Easterly recently but it is hard to say if it is really a long-term thing.

I am Ok with getting back to normal temps and hope this does not lead to the end of tropicals in the state of Florida.

[redant]

Your coconut pictures hardly tell the truth about most of the coconuts in FL. Being on the barrier island in one of the best locations in FL they fair much better then the average coconut in FL.

[spockvr6]

True enough about the Coconuts rendant. I am in the middle of the state now (Okeechobee) and the few I've seen around here look like straw.

Bubba-

You are in a good spot! I think the "Coconut Zone" in FL is shrinking....probably a thin sliver down the coasts and not as far north as just a few years ago.

[Takil-Explorer]

Exploding coconuts? Never heard of that, they can fall down, but explode?

Alexander

[DavidLee]

True enough about the Coconuts rendant. I am in the middle of the state now (Okeechobee) and the few I've seen around here look like straw.

Bubba-

You are in a good spot! I think the "Coconut Zone" in FL is shrinking....probably a thin sliver down the coasts and not as far north as just a few years ago.

Bubba

I am orginally from Okeechobee. Born and raised. You can see a few on the lakefront there and along canals. Not great ones. They gotten pretty beaten up after those freezes. They probably wont survive long term there. Climate is to cold to grow them long term in Okeechobee. Okeechobee has an inland Central Florida Climate. Sometimes colder than Orlando. It sucks when you live hour away from West Palm Beach and cant grow coconuts. Coconut is a weed in West Palm Beach. Being North of the lake doesnt help much either as being south of it. You can see much better ones near the lake front about Sand Cut in Palm Beach County all the way around until Clewiston in Hendry County. Very warm microclimate. Nice royal palms among huge bayans everywhere in the same areas especially around Pahokee. Looks like your in a different country. Also you will see huge Strangler Fig Trees growing in forest from the Okeechobee/Martin County line southward to about Sand Cut. They are on left side of the road if you traveling south on US441 and of course on the right side if you were traveling north. They must 60 feet or higher. I remember at Canal Point after the 1989 freeze they had Mangos the following year with no damage to the trees. Lake Worth in Coastal Palm Beach County had damage to their mango trees from the 89 freze. Most of the time Lake Worth has warmer readings than Canal Point. I hope you enjoy Okeechobee.

[spockvr6]

I am orginally from Okeechobee. Born and raised. You can see a few on the lakefront there and along canals. Not great ones. They gotten pretty beaten up after those freezes. They probably wont survive long term there. Climate is to cold to grow them long term in Okeechobee. Okeechobee has an inland Central Florida Climate. Sometimes colder than Orlando. It sucks when you live hour away from West Palm Beach and cant grow coconuts. Coconut is a weed in West Palm Beach. Being North of the lake doesnt help much either as being south of it. You can see much better ones near the lake front about Sand Cut in Palm Beach County all the way around until Clewiston in Hendry County. Very warm microclimate. Nice royal palms among huge bayans everywhere in the same areas especially around Pahokee. Looks like your in a different country. Also you will see huge Strangler Fig Trees growing in forest from the Okeechobee/Martin County line southward to about Sand Cut. They are on left side of the road if you traveling south on US441 and of course on the right side if you were traveling north. They must 60 feet or higher. I remember at Canal Point after the 1989 freeze they had Mangos the following year with no damage to the trees. Lake Worth in Coastal Palm Beach County had damage to their mango trees from the 89 freze. Most of the time Lake Worth has warmer readings than Canal Point. I hope you enjoy Okeechobee.

David-

We did enjoy Okeechobee. We stayed in a cabin at the KOA.

Heres what my car looked like one morning! This was some thick stuff.....coated all the way down the side of the car (which I had not seen since moving to FL from Maine).

I took a drive all the way around the lake and your assessment seems quite correct. The north end of the lake was whacked pretty hard as well as about half way down the east and west sides. The southern end (Pahokee and Belle Glade) looked almost perfect with some damage here and there.

There was a large field of palms on the north east side of the lake. I felt very bad for this grower as it is severely damaged.

[spockvr6]

On the bright side, I took a quick drive around Pine Island and it looked pretty good overall. There are areas of burn in some of the palm fields, but there are other areas which look fine. The north aned south ends of the island definitely appear to have fared best.

Coconut field----There are thousands and thousands of these grown commercially there.

[spockvr6]

We are looking for a vacatin house on Pine Island and took at look at this one. The location was obviously good as the Adonidia out fron was undamaged, the neighbors Papaya was still leafed out and Dypsis hedge wasnt all torched. Its a pity the house was severely smoked in, as that eliminated it

[spockvr6]

And my favorite restuarant on the island-----

[spockvr6]

We are in Cape Coral now (SE part) and the damage here is almost non-existent. Granted this is an urban area, but even the Travellers Trees in the hotel pool area are fine.

[bubba]

David,No doubt Okeechobee can get cold and I constantly empathize with Walt. He is a real Palm soldier and I hope he does not give up. Your observation about Canal Point and it's micro-climate is spot on.I knew an expert farmer, who lived on Bacom Point Road and his house backed up to Lake Okeechobee in Pahokee/Canal Point area.He kept meticulous climatic records in this area for over 70 years and never recorded a freezing temperature at his weather station on the foot of the Lake. This included 1989.Many old tall Coconuts in his back yard, ficus and other tropicals.

Larry,Thanks for the pictures. I am starting to believe that those West Coast Islands are the warmest place in the State during hostile artic invasions.

Takil, Coconut explosions occur at -20F.

[Dave-Vero]

What's creepy about these arctic air invasions is the way the cold air moves down the center of the peninsula, sometimes spreading toward both coasts. Pinellas County and Pine Island benefit from lots of water, as does Melbourne Beach.

I think Indian River County got extra-low temperatures in part because the St. Johns River marshes are extremely dry.

On the other hand, during the last freeze, a big marsh fire may have generated enough smoke to warm us up by several degrees.

[DavidLee]

David,No doubt Okeechobee can get cold and I constantly empathize with Walt. He is a real Palm soldier and I hope he does not give up. Your observation about Canal Point and it's micro-climate is spot on.I knew an expert farmer, who lived on Bacom Point Road and his house backed up to Lake Okeechobee in Pahokee/Canal Point area.He kept meticulous climatic records in this area for over 70 years and never recorded a freezing temperature at his weather station on the foot of the Lake. This included 1989.Many old tall Coconuts in his back yard, ficus and other tropicals.

Larry,Thanks for the pictures. I am starting to believe that those West Coast Islands are the warmest place in the State during hostile artic invasions.

Takil, Coconut explosions occur at -20F.

Wow. I thought it had to freeze once in while there and spared from the worst. I have read about a freeze along time ago where Miami would see a freeze and the South side of the lake front would still manage not to freeze. That is something. To bad there isnt much out there and the bass fishing isnt as good as Okeechobee exception to Clewiston.

[DavidLee]

We are in Cape Coral now (SE part) and the damage here is almost non-existent. Granted this is an urban area, but even the Travellers Trees in the hotel pool area are fine.

I like Sanibel Captiva island in Lee County.They have preserved alot of the natural vegetation with alot of trails. The have planted beautiful native maritime tropical landscaping among washed shell. You know like gumbo limbo, mastic, satinleaf, sea grapes, wild lime, fire bush, paradise tree and alot of others. They dont have the boring ficus hedges everywhere. Mucho kudos for their efforts. I give them an A+. They just need get rid of the monitor lizzards. In comparion in climate with the Southern east coast barrier islands. I dont think Sanibel is as warm as barrier islands in Palm Beach and counties southward long term. Sanibel get theres too with most of time maybe never without being a hard freeze. Thats what I see in my observation but the island is still good enough for me. They just need to get rid of the monitor lizzards.