Polar Vortex 2022...... who's ready?

[Allen]

I'm showing about 100 hours below freezing now.  Red alert! I wrapped everything I could today.

 

[RJ]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

I'm showing about 100 hours below freezing now.  Red alert! I wrapped everything I could today.

 

 

 

May the “mule” be with you ™️ 

[Chester B]

Well I’m not ready now. Of course the forecast just changed. Freezing rain for me, possibly a full blown ice storm. Last ice storm took over a year to cleanup. I seem to get these every year and yes they do cause damage worse then snow. 
 

[Dartolution]

@Allen Everything looks well protected! Much better than what I have going on! hahaha 

[RJ]

43 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Well I’m not ready now. Of course the forecast just changed. Freezing rain for me, possibly a full blown ice storm. Last ice storm took over a year to cleanup. I seem to get these every year and yes they do cause damage worse then snow. 
 

 

 

Freezing rain is the worst . I went through the ice storm of 1998 in northern New England/southern Quebec. High tension wires came down like slinkies. I was without power for weeks in the January. No buenno. 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1998_North_American_ice_storm

Edited December 19, 2022 by RJ

[PalmTreeDude]

Here's the forecast for my area near Richmond VA, cold but not too bad. Ultimate low of 14°F, hopefully it doesn't get any colder. Nothing will be protected other than my king palm (which already basically has a mini greenhouse around it at the moment). 

[BeyondTheGarden]

@Chester B what carnage!  We used to get occasional bad ice storms in Missouri, it would down trees and powerlines everywhere.  I have great memories riding around in a pick up with my buddies and a power saw clearing peoples yards and driveways free of charge.  Man I don't miss brutal winters.

Edit; I know they have ice storms here but I have yet to see one.  I've heard several neighbors (lived here 30 + years) talk about ice storms with no power and heating their houses with wood stoves...   hope to never see those days again. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Jesse PNW

[GeorgiaPalms]

I am seeing a low around 15 degrees F and a whole day below freezing here in GA. I think I will cover up my pindo palm and newly planted (June this year) 15 gallon Sabal Palmettos and add some lights for warmth. Hopefully it doesnt get any colder. Not really planning to protect my other established palms unless something drastic happens. Good luck everyone. 

[MarcusH]

I live on the northeast side of San Antonio and AccuWeather is showing me 14F at night but real feel -6F .  Luckily day time temperatures will be above freezing.  My palms are all young which means I have to do some work in a few days.  I started giving them more water and I've put an extra layer of mulch around the base .  I didn't expect another polar vortex anytime soon but here we go again.  

[MarcusH]

4 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

I live on the northeast side of San Antonio and AccuWeather is showing me 14F at night but real feel -6F .  Luckily day time temperatures will be above freezing.  My palms are all young which means I have to do some work in a few days.  I started giving them more water and I've put an extra layer of mulch around the base .  I didn't expect another polar vortex anytime soon but here we go again.  

 

[MarcusH]

23 hours ago, fr8train said:

They're forecasting a low of 13f next Thursday here around San Antonio. It's sad, it looks like many of the palms that survived 2021 recovered, now they'll burn again.

It looks like I'll have to bring my potted plants in, which is something I wasn't expecting so soon after moving here a few months ago from the midwest.

You never know.  SA is 8b/9a ,the area does get cold days in winter now and then just not as many in total.  As I mentioned earlier luckily daytime temperatures will be above freezing and no precipitation is expected.  This Polar vortex won't be as severe as February 2021. I'm not worried I will protect my palms since they're young I also have one queen but with wrapping and Christmas lights I expect it to be OK.  We will see. 

[Jtee]

I’ve never protected a palm before and really not looking forward to it. I bought one freeze cloth that I’ll wrap up 1 lucky palm in this year. Probably one of my Sylvester’s. 

 

I have two planted, they took 18 degrees last year in their first year in the ground. One defoliated and the other was unfazed. Two different parts of the yard but both exposed to the weather elements. 
It appears the Sylvester grew fairly fast and pushed out a full set of green fronds. This last pic was taken in September. 
 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Jtee

[Sabal King]

I'm going with what I have done in the past... everything that made it through last winter won't go anything.  First year planting and smaller sabals will get maybe a frost cloth, or a simple fleece wrapping of ground level, wrapped in either frost cloth or a black contractor bag.  I did this last year with first year plantings when we had the ice for multiple days, and low teens to much success.

Whatever doesn't make this blast will just get replaced with something that will going forward.  Thinning of the herd.  The only two I will protected are first year Butia x Jubea, and another Butia I have.  They'll get fleeced, frost cloth, and potentially some C19 lights around them.  It's cold, but won't be 2021, and thankfully no precipitation this time around.

[amh]

On 12/18/2022 at 8:05 PM, Chester B said:

Well I’m not ready now. Of course the forecast just changed. Freezing rain for me, possibly a full blown ice storm. Last ice storm took over a year to cleanup. I seem to get these every year and yes they do cause damage worse then snow. 

Ice storms can be horrible. In 2007, my area was coated in at least a half inch of ice, the extra weight caused a 30+ foot long oak tree limb to fall. Luckily it only grazed my house, so there was no damage. 

[Chester B]

51 minutes ago, amh said:

Ice storms can be horrible. In 2007, my area was coated in at least a half inch of ice, the extra weight caused a 30+ foot long oak tree limb to fall. Luckily it only grazed my house, so there was no damage. 

Last time it was over an inch thick  It can get out of hand here quickly.  They have confirmed we're getting an ice storm starting Thursday night, and the interstate was shut down today already going through the Columbia river gorge due to ice.  Probably won't reopen until Saturday or Sunday.

Thursday will be bitterly cold in the Portland metro area. Gusty east wind and highs only 25-30! We haven’t seen that in two years. Wind chill down in the single digits and teens all day. Gusts could top 40 mph.

So looking forward to constant 20+ mph steady wind and ice, what a great combo.  At least I no longer have any tall trees on my property, the last ice storm took the few remaining ones out.

[jwitt]

I'm not playing in this one. But  50 miles east, the fun begins. 

[RJ]

4 hours ago, Chester B said:

Last time it was over an inch thick  It can get out of hand here quickly.  They have confirmed we're getting an ice storm starting Thursday night, and the interstate was shut down today already going through the Columbia river gorge due to ice.  Probably won't reopen until Saturday or Sunday.

Thursday will be bitterly cold in the Portland metro area. Gusty east wind and highs only 25-30! We haven’t seen that in two years. Wind chill down in the single digits and teens all day. Gusts could top 40 mph.

So looking forward to constant 20+ mph steady wind and ice, what a great combo.  At least I no longer have any tall trees on my property, the last ice storm took the few remaining ones out.

We have the wind and cold but no ice 🧊. On the other side of the US. From our NWS 

 

 

Very strong cold advection behind the front will bring gusty
winds to around 40 mph with a few higher gusts possible. Given
the strength of the 850mb jet and strong downward vertical
motion a Wind Advisory may be needed. The cold airmass will
bring temperatures into the low to mid teens on Saturday
morning. Temperatures will continue to stay mainly below
freezing through Christmas morning. Abnormally cold temperatures
and gusty conditions Friday/Friday night may prompt a wind
chill advisory. The cold and dry air mass will dominate through
the Christmas weekend through the long term.

Edited December 21, 2022 by RJ

[Chester B]

It’s been pouring all day so the usual set up before a major event here, everything is soaked and won’t dry out before the ice begins.  Apparently our wind chills will be at 0 and I’m not talking Celsius. 
 

On a positive note two big trees fell over from the weight of the ice and improved my view of Mt Hood the last time. And my neighbor’s enormous cedar that blocked 50% of my overall view was decimated. My plants had a bit of a rough go with all the sun they started getting but eventually adjusted. So it will be interesting to see what other views may open up. 

[Allen]

My forecast is looking awesome….NOT.   Gonna lose stuff

 

[Manalto]

Predictions for the Alabama Gulf Coast say low twenties on Friday and Saturday with daytime temperatures in the low 30s. Chamaedorea seedlings are in an unheated shed, Zone 10 (and higher) plants are in the garage or house. The 'Brasil' philodendron that has been in the process of engulfing the trunk of my massive live oak, and which survived 28F last winter, is covered by two bamboo poles with a heavy canvas drop cloth draped over them.  Tropical hibiscus

with its luscious deep orange blooms - but frustrating shabbiness and leaf drop all summer long - will be sacrificed. Bye, bye. 

My leaky old house will be uncomfortable for a couple of days. I had planned to have all the windows restored by now but somehow got distracted by something sparkly, I guess, and the time got away from me. Layers!

[Sabal King]

1 hour ago, Allen said:

My forecast is looking awesome….NOT.   Gonna lose stuff

 

Wow... I feel like y'all are getting something much closer to what we had in '21 with our freeze... ours will drop cold, but it is gone within 2 days and warms up real quick back into nearly 70 by early next week... your temps look absolutely downright disgusting.

[DAVEinMB]

Well my forecasted low of 25 went to 17 in a damn hurry.  I've applied copper fungicide to a number of plants and covered a few but I guess I need to bring out the Christmas lights. I'm going to stress test a few plants, I'll post results. 

[RJ]

34 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

Well my forecasted low of 25 went to 17 in a damn hurry.  I've applied copper fungicide to a number of plants and covered a few but I guess I need to bring out the Christmas lights. I'm going to stress test a few plants, I'll post results. 

Calling for 17 at my property by the lake. I find this tool by the nws pretty useful. 
 

https://digital.weather.gov/

[DAVEinMB]

16 minutes ago, RJ said:

Calling for 17 at my property by the lake. I find this tool by the nws pretty useful. 
 

https://digital.weather.gov/

I haven't used that website before, thanks for the link. It's actually painting a much better picture for the coast than accuweather and the weather channel. Guess we'll see 🤞

[RJ]

11 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

I haven't used that website before, thanks for the link. It's actually painting a much better picture for the coast than accuweather and the weather channel. Guess we'll see 🤞

It puts it into nice grids, I figure my local nws has a better picture for local micro climates then accuweather etc… 

 

its showing my new house +3*F then my rental home. Which is pretty accurate usually it’s a 3-5 delta based on actual observations. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by RJ

[Chester B]

I’m getting a 12 to 15 degree spread between my local meteorologists and every app and website!  Who to believe.  Local guys say two days below freezing and at freezing on Saturday.   Every other source says Thursday only below freezing. Local meteorologists have had some big misses in the past.
 

Regardless I got extra lights and frost cloth. My protection methods are pretty rudimentary, Wrap and protect the growing point from freezing rain on more sensitive palms. Things like Trachys, Chamaerops, needles and Sabals can handle these weather events. 

[teddytn]

Cold hardy palms is a good place for this thread, we’re about to see what palms are and definitely are not. 

[Allen]

18 minutes ago, teddytn said:

Cold hardy palms is a good place for this thread, we’re about to see what palms are and definitely are not. 

And that is the optimistic of the 2 competing weather models for us.

 

https://darksky.net/forecast/36.5277,-87.3605/us12/en

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Allen

[teddytn]

10 minutes ago, Allen said:

And that is the optimistic of the 2 competing weather models for us.

For sure we could easily go below zero at this point and depending on when that precipitation hits we could get capital F’ed with a load of ice like last winter. 

[Allen]

8 minutes ago, teddytn said:

For sure we could easily go below zero at this point and depending on when that precipitation hits we could get capital F’ed with a load of ice like last winter. 

I just buried the Larger S. minors trunks/spears in mulch.  Covered small ones in mulch or covered some of the ones you gave me with small Styrofoam coolers I use to protect tropical plants in spring.  Going all out protect mode.

https://darksky.net/forecast/36.5277,-87.3605/us12/en

Edited December 21, 2022 by Allen

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Go figure after getting palms in the ground at my new house. Mother nature couldn't give me a 10a winter haha My Patric hybrids are gonna get tested right out the gate. BxPJT,  BxLytoWedd,  BxMonty, (BxJ)xS Prolly not gonna give them supplemental heat unless yall think it's necessary ?  Our ultimate low is only forecasted to 23° Friday morning with a high of 36° that day. Was planning to just wrap with a moving blanket and cover with a Planket. 

T J 

[UK_Palms]

5 hours ago, teddytn said:

Cold hardy palms is a good place for this thread, we’re about to see what palms are and definitely are not. 

 

Holy crap! What palms have you got and what protection will you be doing? Never mind that crazy 1F low, that 13F high is also just brutal for a daytime max. 

[Brad Mondel]

My low says 11F. Good luck everyone. I'm not protecting anything. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Brad Mondel

[JohnAndSancho]

7 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Go figure after getting palms in the ground at my new house. Mother nature couldn't give me a 10a winter haha My Patric hybrids are gonna get tested right out the gate. BxPJT,  BxLytoWedd,  BxMonty, (BxJ)xS Prolly not gonna give them supplemental heat unless yall think it's necessary ?  Our ultimate low is only forecasted to 23° Friday morning with a high of 36° that day. Was planning to just wrap with a moving blanket and cover with a Planket. 

T J 

My BxLyfo has been inside for like a week now. It's on the right. 

[jwitt]

I wish all well through the deep cold. 

And ice

I'm kind of wondering(worrying?)about today being the first day of winter and that these events usually happen a bit later in the winter season.  

Yesterday was "fall"

[JohnAndSancho]

5 minutes ago, jwitt said:

I wish all well through the deep cold. 

And ice

I'm kind of wondering(worrying?)about today being the first day of winter and that these events usually happen a bit later in the winter season.  

Yesterday was "fall"

It was in the 70s last week here in SETX. 

[teddytn]

4 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

 

Holy crap! What palms have you got and what protection will you be doing? Never mind that crazy 1F low, that 13F high is also just brutal for a daytime max. 

95%Sabal family, 3 needle palms, 5 windmill palms just planted this year. Big Birminghams are on their own, same as Sabal minors and Louisianas. Covered everything else including small agaves, yuccas, cactus and small palms with buckets and bins. Bigger palms got frost cloth and then plastic, or a blanket and a trash bag. No heat on anything. We’ll see how it turns out, may have some new spots to plant stuff in the spring 

[Gallop]

I set up a couple tents to protect my dwarf butia and one over my cycad bed. Everything else will exposed. I typically see leaf burn in low 20s. Hoping for the best on the new 5gal hybrids I put in the ground last summer. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Gallop

[Sabal King]

This really reinforces my decision to plant 95% Sabals, and the rest are some hybrids, tough ones though..  I am only providing supplemental heat to a first winter'd 10G BxJ, rest are getting fleece wrapped around the crown or growing point, and then a big black contractor bag around them.  The black bag actually helps grab heat from the sun which helps as we'll have full sun during most of this lousy cold.  I feel for all of my brothers up north in TN getting something that to me feels like 2021, maybe even worse.

I did end up throwing some protection on some of my bigger and what I would consider able to make it through this unprotected sabals (riverside, birmingham, louisiana, brazoriensis) but in the case of Birmingham, and Louisiana, I did leave half of them unwrapped.  I also did the same experiment this last January during the ice storms and saw that the unwrapped ones took 48 hours+ at 16-18F covered in ice with no problems.  You'd never even know at this point.  Someday I won't be able to wrap them because of their size and I will have to deal knowing they can handle it.

I'm just a wimp and hate seeing things get beaten up, heh.  I even wrapped our chicken coop in a nice big layer of frost cloth to break that northernly wind which is about 3 hours away.. 

It starts today for us NTX folks.....

[Allen]

4 hours ago, tlow said:

This really reinforces my decision to plant 95% Sabals, and the rest are some hybrids, tough ones though..  I am only providing supplemental heat to a first winter'd 10G BxJ, rest are getting fleece wrapped around the crown or growing point, and then a big black contractor bag around them.  The black bag actually helps grab heat from the sun which helps as we'll have full sun during most of this lousy cold.  I feel for all of my brothers up north in TN getting something that to me feels like 2021, maybe even worse.

I did end up throwing some protection on some of my bigger and what I would consider able to make it through this unprotected sabals (riverside, birmingham, louisiana, brazoriensis) but in the case of Birmingham, and Louisiana, I did leave half of them unwrapped.  I also did the same experiment this last January during the ice storms and saw that the unwrapped ones took 48 hours+ at 16-18F covered in ice with no problems.  You'd never even know at this point.  Someday I won't be able to wrap them because of their size and I will have to deal knowing they can handle it.

I'm just a wimp and hate seeing things get beaten up, heh.  I even wrapped our chicken coop in a nice big layer of frost cloth to break that northernly wind which is about 3 hours away.. 

It starts today for us NTX folks.....

I'm showing 7-10F for you.  Did you wrap the Trachy?  16-18F is not too hard on most Sabals even with ice but 7F might hurt the non-minor hybrid types