We're expected to have a low temperature of 31F tomorrow morning which is no big deal but we're also getting really strong winds so the wind chill is forecast to be near 18F. Does the wind chill matter when it comes to the amount of damage palm trees get from the cold? 

The wind chill, as some weather agencies will put it, does not directly translate to a palms "real feel" temperature. The wind chill factor is only meant for people, or any warm blooded mammal I suppose- not plants. So, your palms will feel the 31 degree temperature. It wont feel 18 degrees because of the wind.

BUT...

Despite the wind not having a "chill" factor to plants or palms, the harsh, cold winds DO have the ability of stripping the palm of stored moisture; essentially causing stress to the plant and thus weakening it to the point where 31 degrees WITH wind could do a whole lot more damage than just 31 degrees W/O wind.

Hope that makes sense. Someone could probably state it a little more eloquently than I just did, but I wondered this as well a while back and was given a similar answer.

Edited January 23, 201610 yr by smithgn

8 hours ago, smithgn said:

The wind chill, as some weather agencies will put it, does not directly translate to a palms "real feel" temperature. The wind chill factor is only meant for people, or any warm blooded mammal I suppose- not plants. So, your palms will feel the 31 degree temperature. It wont feel 18 degrees because of the wind.

BUT...

Despite the wind not having a "chill" factor to plants or palms, the harsh, cold winds DO have the ability of stripping the palm of stored moisture; essentially causing stress to the plant and thus weakening it to the point where 31 degrees WITH wind could do a whole lot more damage than just 31 degrees W/O wind.

Hope that makes sense. Someone could probably state it a little more eloquently than I just did, but I wondered this as well a while back and was given a similar answer.

I hope that my Butia won't have much problem with losing its stored moisture because we got around 14" of rain over a couple of days in late December and then a few more inches so far this month.

It might actually be good for the wind to dry it out some because the sun isn't supposed to come out today and the low is forecast to be near 25F so I wouldn't want any moisture to freeze on it. 

We were having a pretty nice zone 9b winter but then we suddenly got snow flurries for the first time in two years last night. 

 

10 hours ago, nitsua0895 said:

I hope that my Butia won't have much problem with losing its stored moisture because we got around 14" of rain over a couple of days in late December and then a few more inches so far this month.

It might actually be good for the wind to dry it out some because the sun isn't supposed to come out today and the low is forecast to be near 25F so I wouldn't want any moisture to freeze on it. 

We were having a pretty nice zone 9b winter but then we suddenly got snow flurries for the first time in two years last night. 

 

Nick is right, only us warm blooded mammals are directly affected by wind chill, but plants can suffer a sort of cold wind burn due to the drying effects of the wind.

23 hours ago, smithgn said:

The wind chill, as some weather agencies will put it, does not directly translate to a palms "real feel" temperature. The wind chill factor is only meant for people, or any warm blooded mammal I suppose- not plants. So, your palms will feel the 31 degree temperature. It wont feel 18 degrees because of the wind.

BUT...

Despite the wind not having a "chill" factor to plants or palms, the harsh, cold winds DO have the ability of stripping the palm of stored moisture; essentially causing stress to the plant and thus weakening it to the point where 31 degrees WITH wind could do a whole lot more damage than just 31 degrees W/O wind.

Hope that makes sense. Someone could probably state it a little more eloquently than I just did, but I wondered this as well a while back and was given a similar answer.

Should I have left the water running for most wind-exposed plants? We're expecting a low tonight of 36 with a wind chill temp in the 20s. 

Alex,

I have mixed feelings on this.  I have heard that it is good to thoroughly water plants before a freeze, however, I don't know if that would be a good idea with palms like coconut palms that don't like chilly damp roots at all.  So maybe someone with more wisdom than I have can chime in here and enlighten us.

John