Possible Florida Freeze - December

[IHB1979]

[RedRabbit]

Interesting night tonight around Tampa Bay. Normally there are some pretty big differences in temperature around here, but tonight it is relatively uniform:

upload gambar

[_Keith]

We hit 35 last night and with overcast skies no frost.  However, tonight we are supposed to bottom out at 35, but with clear skies.   I expect to see heavy frost in the morning, and a likely slight dip below freezing.   Cheers to me being wrong, the good way, that is.

[cm05]

Bottomed out at 30 this morning, first freeze but no frost.

[gsytch]

Hit 48F as the low Saturdaymorning, a LOT warmer than the "near 40F" of a few days earlier and a beautiful 70F afternoon. Low this morning is 55F, and a warmup ensues this week. I do not like the "Siberian Express" I am seeing on weather maps. A blocking ridge is forcing Siberian air up and over, then down into western Canada, then into the northern US. Next week is looking bitterly cold in places like Chicago, Des Moines, Cleveland and into NYC but no indications of the cold south of, say Atlanta. But, as we know, that can change with time as the flow can become stronger. The subtropical jet stream is currently saving us from any arctic intrusions. 

[Matthew92]

29 here yesterday morning. 33 this morning. Bananas still not 100% burned though. Ti plants hardly any damage.

[kinzyjr]

Bottomed off at 48F.  Nothing too extreme.

[RedRabbit]

1 hour ago, Opal92 said:

29 here yesterday morning. 33 this morning. Bananas still not 100% burned though. Ti plants hardly any damage.

Sorry to hear about the freeze. How far you are south made a huge difference this time. I think it dropped nearly 20 degrees between my area and Gainesville.

[nitsua0895]

7 hours ago, gsytch said:

Hit 48F as the low Saturdaymorning, a LOT warmer than the "near 40F" of a few days earlier and a beautiful 70F afternoon. Low this morning is 55F, and a warmup ensues this week. I do not like the "Siberian Express" I am seeing on weather maps. A blocking ridge is forcing Siberian air up and over, then down into western Canada, then into the northern US. Next week is looking bitterly cold in places like Chicago, Des Moines, Cleveland and into NYC but no indications of the cold south of, say Atlanta. But, as we know, that can change with time as the flow can become stronger. The subtropical jet stream is currently saving us from any arctic intrusions. 

This "Siberian Express" is worrying me as well. I've already got my heating cables and blankets ready to protect my Queen palm and maybe even Mules if something changes and we get a huge blast of cold in Montgomery. After several hours just below freezing the past couple of nights, we're also seeing a warmup. Tomorrow is forecast to be a high of 71F and the coldest night on the 10 day forecast is just 31F. 

It's been about two years since we had temps below 25F so I'm hoping it stays that way for a long time.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Major cold coming our way. Sundays forecasted low dropped from 28 to 21 in the last 24 hours. 

[NorCalKing]

17 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Major cold coming our way. Sundays forecasted low dropped from 28 to 21 in the last 24 hours. 

You can say that again. Man you guys are looking really bad. Hopefully things moderate.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

14 minutes ago, NorCalKing said:

You can say that again. Man you guys are looking really bad. Hopefully things moderate.

I dont like the way this is looking....

Where did you grab that screenshot?

[RedRabbit]

Nothing noteworthy in the forecast here, looks like mostly lows in the 60s through next week.

Edited December 14, 2016 by RedRabbit

[NorCalKing]

2 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

I dont like the way this is looking....

Where did you grab that screenshot?

Right here:

http://www.pivotalweather.com/model.php?m=gfs&p=sfct&rh=2016121300&fh=27&r=us_sc&dpdt=

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

This is what makes our dips SO stressful on palms when compared to anywhere else in the US - High of 80 during the day then 21 that same night....

Everything will be active and growing only for 12 hours later to be in a very hard freeze.  This artic cold front will be an absolute direct hit for us.

[Alan_Tampa]

That stinks! 

[NorCalKing]

12 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

This is what makes our dips SO stressful on palms when compared to anywhere else in the US - High of 80 during the day then 21 that same night....

Everything will be active and growing only for 12 hours later to be in a very hard freeze.  This artic cold front will be an absolute direct hit for us.

That's insanity. Then looks like you don't get above freezing Sunday. I'm amazed any palm can survive those roller coaster temps.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

On 12/13/2016, 6:25:14, NorCalKing said:

On 12/14/2016, 9:28:35, NorCalKing said:

That's insanity. Then looks like you don't get above freezing Sunday. I'm amazed any palm can survive those roller coaster temps.

Well, the forecast is even worse than before. Another zone 8b winter....

[SubTropicRay]

Ugh....hoping the best turns out for you.  We've all been there before.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I guess the good news is that I'll put out a variety of potted species out to contribute to the hardiness forum. Bad news is that i have about a thousand 5-7g plants out in pots/bags that wont be very happy. Survival of the fittest!

Edited December 16, 2016 by TexasColdHardyPalms

[RedRabbit]

6 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Sorry to see this, good luck! :/

Edited December 16, 2016 by RedRabbit

[_Keith]

Ooooh, now I feel better only looking at 31

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Well the fun has started.  The temperature dropped from 75 to 35 in 3 hours today and I'm currently at 26.8 and the wind is blowing 25-30MPH.  Needless to say it is looking to be nastier than forecasted and is shaping up to be the worst winter blast since 2010 for us.

[enigma99]

On 12/16/2016, 5:31:33, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

I have heard stories like this. I wonder what it feels like to have a high of 72 and a low of 21. 

[NorCalKing]

1 hour ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Well the fun has started.  The temperature dropped from 75 to 35 in 3 hours today and I'm currently at 26.8 and the wind is blowing 25-30MPH.  Needless to say it is looking to be nastier than forecasted and is shaping up to be the worst winter blast since 2010 for us.

Crazy, I was watching a PWS online earlier today, and watching the temps fall was almost hard to believe. Like 10 degrees in 20 min. Absolutely mind boggling.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

There will be a lot of dead palm trees here...  It is 17.5 at the nursery and 18.1 here at the house with a few more hours for the temps to fall further.  This was a lot worse than forecasted and absolutely the worst since 2010 and has to be one of the worst in December as our major events usually occur in January or February.  The only good news is that we had zero precipitation. 

[RedRabbit]

3 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

There will be a lot of dead palm trees here...  It is 17.5 at the nursery and 18.1 here at the house with a few more hours for the temps to fall further.  This was a lot worse than forecasted and absolutely the worst since 2010 and has to be one of the worst in December as our major events usually occur in January or February.  The only good news is that we had zero precipitation. 

Sorry, I can only imagine the impact if that happened here. 

[NorCalKing]

5 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

There will be a lot of dead palm trees here...  It is 17.5 at the nursery and 18.1 here at the house with a few more hours for the temps to fall further.  This was a lot worse than forecasted and absolutely the worst since 2010 and has to be one of the worst in December as our major events usually occur in January or February.  The only good news is that we had zero precipitation. 

Hope this year old man winter has unleashed all his furry earlier, rather than later. I'm sure to have some damage over here as well, with a 27f my backyard hit last night. Good luck to us both!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Its not warming up either as it is still 20 degrees. We bottomed out at 17.5 at the house and 16.6 at the nursery.  Whatever potted plants live through this are the real deal.

[RedRabbit]

3 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Its not warming up either as it is still 20 degrees. We bottomed out at 17.5 at the house and 16.6 at the nursery.  Whatever potted plants live through this are the real deal.

I'd be very interested in reading a thread with your results from this if you felt inclined to start one.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Here are the test plants. I put them back in the cold frame which bottomed out at 32 degrees and was 39 when i left an hour ago. 

There is a livistona decora, sabal uresana, c. Microspadix and radicalis, copernicia alba, coontie, brahea armata and aculeata, n. Ritcheana and a sabal causarium. All 1g pots appear to be frozen solid. Also outside, not pictured are 1g -5g trithrinax campestris, sabal minor, rosei, riverside and mexicana. Needles, sereona repens green, silver med fan, w. Filifera and jubaea. 

[NorCalKing]

16 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Its not warming up either as it is still 20 degrees. We bottomed out at 17.5 at the house and 16.6 at the nursery.  Whatever potted plants live through this are the real deal.

I see that, looks like you may not break freezing. Here's where I'll be lucky with a "balmy" 51F forecasted for this aft.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Didn't make it above 30, let alone 32....  Wind has died down and the clouds moved out so my house will stay warmer than the surrounding areas tonight; not that it will make much of a difference at this point.

[_Keith]

They bumped us around for a couple of days between 32 and 34, and seam to have settled in around 33 and cloud cover.  That won't be too bad.

[Xenon]

It's already 30F here at 2am and the sky is supposed to be clearing up...could end badly (for my little mango tree). Even the heat island doesn't seem to be helping much...downtown Houston holding at 32-34F. The bayfront is in 34-37F range with Galveston around 39F. Surprised that Dallas area is below 20F this early in the season. Also surprising is that Corpus Christi area has a similar temperature spread to Houston...40 degree line hugs the Mexican border and immediate far southern coast (South Padre currently 41F).

Edited December 19, 2016 by Xenon

[Bill H2DB]

   Topic drift aside , there was no recent Freeze in Florida , and yesterday, Sunday Dec 18  , a new daily high Temp record was set here in Daytona Beach

at 86 degrees.   I was conversing with my brother , who lives in Sioux Falls, S.D. , and he had a low of  -28 .

[Walt]

Sebring FAWN weather station (maintained by the University of Florida, and located about 8 miles S.E. of the town of Sebring) recorded a high of 91.47 degrees at 2 p.m. I live approximately 8 miles S.W. of the Sebring FAWN  weather station -- and I believe the reading. I had to turn my A.C. back on. This kind of temperature high is way above normal for this time of the year -- but I will take it any day over a freeze.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Another 17.0 degree day at the house and 16 degrees at the nursery which will put us around 44 hours straight below freezing. This is the worst since 2010 for the area and occurred because of that high pressure zone in the Southeast which trapped and funneled everything straight to us instead of moderating to the east.  To see Shreveport never dip below 22 degrees while we are well into the teens for two days straight is unprecedented. Looks like most of Austin dropped to 19-21 and most of San Antonio is <25 this morning while Houston barely dropped below freezing.

[IHB1979]

10 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Another 17.0 degree day at the house and 16 degrees at the nursery which will put us around 44 hours straight below freezing. This is the worst since 2010 for the area and occurred because of that high pressure zone in the Southeast which trapped and funneled everything straight to us instead of moderating to the east.  To see Shreveport never dip below 22 degrees while we are well into the teens for two days straight is unprecedented. Looks like most of Austin dropped to 19-21 and most of San Antonio is <25 this morning while Houston barely dropped below freezing.

Here's a map showing what TexasColdHardyPalms is talking about. 

 

Here's tonight/tomorrow morning freeze/frost line forecast.

Florida looks above average, especially nighttime lows until January 2nd. Looks like one night of temps in the upper 30's. Two weeks out though.

[Las Palmas Norte]

That's some wide spread cold. Looks like at least 80% of the lower 48 is either under a potential frost or a freeze.

Cheers, Barrie.