Polar Vortex

[CTX Palm King]

@MarcusH…is there any point in either you or I implementing protection? Looks like the low for us is around 32F for 5 or 6 mornings in a row. The most delicate tree I have is a CIDP.

[Robert Cade Ross]

Gonna be fun here south of Harris county lol . Gotta protect my kings and probably cover the Bismarck’s for laughs…. One day might hover in the 30s ugh 

[MarcusH]

9 hours ago, CTX Palm King said:

@MarcusH…is there any point in either you or I implementing protection? Looks like the low for us is around 32F for 5 or 6 mornings in a row. The most delicate tree I have is a CIDP.

The temperatures won't be a problem.  Depending on age , younger palms are more cold sensitive than mature ones.  For example,  I have 4 palms that I can protect with just throwing a bucket over it . I will only do it to minimize cosmetical damage (fteezing rain in the forecast) but we'll be around 30f . Nothing to worry until it gets in the upper teens. 

[UK_Palms]

First air frost of the winter for London last night. Down to -1.4C / 29F at St James Park and -2.9C / 27F at Heathrow. I think Kew Gardens saw -3.3C / 26F. You have to go back 24 years to January 3rd 2004 for when it was this cold on this date. So fairly chilly right now. An arctic airmass is now directly overhead with -8C / 17F hPa temps at 1.5km.

5.6C / 42F was recorded at Scilly St Mary’s last night. It is now 28 years since the last January air frost there for the Scilly Isles back on 2nd January 1997 when it dropped to -0.9C / 30F. Probably the craziest current UK weather statistic.

Remaining cold here for the next few days/nights. Nothing crazy though. Everything has already thawed out here at midday. Already back up to 4-5C / 40F but anther frost is coming again tonight. Less severe than last night however.

[Foxpalms]

32.2f here as a min so stayed above freezing. No frost on the grass. The city of London weather station definitely confirms that it's the mildest area of London as I said it was two years ago.

 

[Mazat]

4 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

First air frost of the winter for London last night. Down to -1.4C / 29F at St James Park and -2.9C / 27F at Heathrow. I think Kew Gardens saw -3.3C / 26F. You have to go back 24 years to January 3rd 2004 for when it was this cold on this date. So fairly chilly right now. An arctic airmass is now directly overhead with -8C / 17F hPa temps at 1.5km.

5.6C / 42F was recorded at Scilly St Mary’s last night. It is now 28 years since the last January air frost there for the Scilly Isles back on 2nd January 1997 when it dropped to -0.9C / 30F. Probably the craziest current UK weather statistic.

Remaining cold here for the next few days/nights. Nothing crazy though. Everything has already thawed out here at midday. Already back up to 4-5C / 40F but anther frost is coming again tonight. Less severe than last night however.

These are good News.

A friend worked near kew gardens (2016-2019)

Is it most the case that kew gardens falls lower than the other stations in your enumeration ?

scilly ist really special.

I hope also here this night falls not under -5 C)23F but we have now in community garden -1 C/30.2 F

We had yesterday 4.10 am -3.8 C/25.16 F/ Max 10.7 C/51.26 F 2.30 pm as a result of föhn

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foehn_wind#:~:text=A Foehn%2C or Föhn (UK,lee of a mountain range.

 

 

 

[MarcusH]

So far our ultimate low was 30f on the NE of San Antonio but some rain is in the forecast for Thursday.  So far we're having a mild winter.  Hopefully it stays like this .  No palms and plants are covered and everything looks like nothing happened . 

[ChrisA]

We finally had a killing frost here in San Antonio. Up until yesterday bougainvillea, lantana, salvia, calliandra, and Callistemon were all in flower. Hard to tell exactly how cold it got at my location as my weather station went on the fritz and has been stuck at 36F. There was a moderate accumulation of frost on all vegetation, lawns, and vehicles. Weather stations within a mile of my location (according to Wunderground) ranged from 24 to 28F. Per the NWS the airport dropped to 28, with freezing temps starting around midnight and lasting until nearly 9am.

 

How did others make out with this cold spell? Those further towards the East Coast will likely have a very cold night tonight as this storm moves offshore and drags clear, dry arctic air into you region. 
 

Stay warm!

[Swolte]

I got down to 25 last night in my area and I think that was the worst of it. Glad I had put protection on some of the more young palms. 
:)

[CTX Palm King]

@Swolte @MarcusH….. 26 here just off 2722/46 last night in NB TX and palms this entire week seem to not even be phased one bit.

I was planning to wrap up three palms… here’s what I protected.

1. CIDP - C9 Lights and Wrapped
2. Jubaea X Butia - C9 Lights only
3. Butia - C9 Lights only

I am convinced non of them needed protection period… even the neighbors CIDP were not touched.

My larger Washingtonia’s shaked it off.

[Marco67]

It hasn't been very cold here up to now, the lowest was -1 C/30 F.  The wind is blowing almost straight from the north so heats up while traveling over the Northsea. 

[amh]

I was about 18F to 19F last night and everything seems fine. I opened the greenhouse this afternoon and everything looks great, it may not be visible, but within the mass of cycads and chamaedoreas, there are figs, mulberries and pomegranates with green leaves.

[MarcusH]

5 hours ago, CTX Palm King said:

@Swolte @MarcusH….. 26 here just off 2722/46 last night in NB TX and palms this entire week seem to not even be phased one bit.

I was planning to wrap up three palms… here’s what I protected.

1. CIDP - C9 Lights and Wrapped
2. Jubaea X Butia - C9 Lights only
3. Butia - C9 Lights only

I am convinced non of them needed protection period… even the neighbors CIDP were not touched.

My larger Washingtonia’s shaked it off.

I can't tell you how exactly cold it got in my neighborhood,  the neighbor's weather stations reading were anywhere from 23f to 32f, very adventurous but checking the  nearest accurate weather station ( Randolph Air Force Base 5 miles away, NE from where I live) buttomed out at 28.2f for an hour.  I assume we were slightly warmer due to our UHI.  So far no damage anywhere.  I made a trip to Austin and everything appears to be undamaged.  

[Robert Cade Ross]

32° this morning in Manvel at my house. Prior to that the coldest nights where 30.6° F no damage thankfully besides banana trees lol

[ChrisA]

No damage to any of my palms as the day warmed up. In fact my robustas looked perfect compared to the filiferas likely due to the very cold rainy day yesterday that the filifera detest.

A little concerned about the popping up from 1/20 onwards, looks to be worthy of keeping an eye on. I think it's definitely mid-winter now across a lot of the eastern half of the US, but every week gets us closer to the blessed spring.  Already we're gaining light almost one minute per day now, and by the end of the month nearly a minute and a half per day.

[Robert Cade Ross]

Baby Jubaea sprout ! 

[MarcusH]

Zero damage to any palms. Robusta's leafes were covered in frost yesterday morning but temperatures quickly went up after sunrise.  Robustas in my neighborhood look great. 

[Robert Cade Ross]

Got 14 sabal uresana yesterday 🫡

[MarcusH]

Another artic front possibly going to hit Texas between Jan. 19 -25 . There's a 64% chance of below average temperature.  We are certainly not out of the woods yet. How severe this cold front is going to be is unknown. 

[jwitt]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

Another artic front possibly going to hit Texas between Jan. 19 -25 . There's a 64% chance of below average temperature.  We are certainly not out of the woods yet. How severe this cold front is going to be is unknown. 

It did snow in Maui a couple of days ago.  

[MarcusH]

1 minute ago, jwitt said:

It did snow in Maui a couple of days ago.  

Whatever happens we can't change the weather.  I guess it wouldn't all matter if it wouldn't be for our hobby. 

[PAPalmtrees]

On 1/2/2025 at 9:28 PM, Robert Cade Ross said:

Gonna be fun here south of Harris county lol . Gotta protect my kings and probably cover the Bismarck’s for laughs…. One day might hover in the 30s ugh 

this is very off topic but are you streaming SZA new album?

[Robert Cade Ross]

50 minutes ago, PaPalmTrees said:

this is very off topic but are you streaming SZA new album?

Always haha 

[PAPalmtrees]

5 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Always haha 

I love SZA and the album lol

[MarcusH]

What's in the weather forecast?  A potential of a light freeze in some parts of South Texas.  A weak artic blast is sending temperatures below average to Texas. An indicator for some severe winter outbreaks for the South ? A low of 35°F is predicted for the San Antonio area. First time bringing some of my tropical palms and other plants inside. Let the games begin!

[Robert Cade Ross]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

What's in the weather forecast?  A potential of a light freeze in some parts of South Texas.  A weak artic blast is sending temperatures below average to Texas. An indicator for some severe winter outbreaks for the South ? A low of 35°F is predicted for the San Antonio area. First time bringing some of my tropical palms and other plants inside. Let the games begin!

Hoping it stays above 40 here 😶‍🌫️

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Hoping it stays above 40 here 😶‍🌫️

Around this time of the year is when palm growers like us pay more attention to the NWS . I have no attentions to protect anything.  I should be good even when temps drop to the mid teens this winter.  

[UK_Palms]

9 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Around this time of the year is when palm growers like us pay more attention to the NWS . I have no attentions to protect anything.  I should be good even when temps drop to the mid teens this winter.  

Famous last words.

Someone is going to get stung this winter. Maybe you. Maybe me. Probably a bunch of folk in their more marginal cold-winter climates i.e. midwest USA and continental Europe.

So don't count your Texan chickens. Not until February-March anyway.

[MarcusH]

13 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Famous last words.

Someone is going to get stung this winter. Maybe you. Maybe me. Probably a bunch of folk in their more marginal cold-winter climates i.e. midwest USA and continental Europe.

So don't count your Texan chickens. Not until February-March anyway.

I'm not counting my chickens because 98 percent of my plants will survive the coldest winter outbreak which can handle easily 1.5 zones down. I've learned from previous winters that zone pushing is a waste of time for me. I like to see things grow to a mature size . The current zone rating doesn't mean anything to me.  The tropical plants I have are all in pots and will be spending the time inside the house when temperatures get below 40. I don't think you have to worry too much in the UK. You don't get these temperature swings like we do but correct me if I'm wrong. 

[PalmatierMeg]

 The combination of La Niña and a Polar Vortex bodes ill for many parts of the SE and Midwest US, unless one of those weather catastrophes blinks (looking like that won't happen where I live). At the moment the predicted low will be 44F along the Isabelle Canal except for palms planted on the seawall above. A joke to many people but not here where some residents walk around in 55F temps dressed in parkas, scarves, fuzzy hats and mittens (really). Except for Snow Birds easily identified by shorts, tank tops and flip-flops on a 40F day. Yet local newscasts have to repeatedly warn year round residents not to dress their children for school in shorts, tank tops and flip-flops on 40F days before shoving them out the door. Gotta love this unhinged place.

What I can predict is that temps in the low-mid 40s will cold damage fronds on my coconuts, Adonidias, Pritchardia pacificas and even bottle palms and may cause my plumerias to drop their leaves. Such damage never heals and you have to wait until spring for new growth to replace damaged foliage. And this is only 11/9. The nadir of our winters is usually forecast to be 01/10 of the next year. After that, lows begin to creep up barring another Siberian Express. If I'm looking at low-mid 40sF next Wednesday, what will I see in early January?

[Mazat]

15 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Famous last words.

Someone is going to get stung this winter. Maybe you. Maybe me. Probably a bunch of folk in their more marginal cold-winter climates i.e. midwest USA and continental Europe.

So don't count your Texan chickens. Not until February-March anyway.

Honestly, I'm happy for everyone here if the winter turns out to be mild, depending on the region. For us, that would mean a low of -6 degrees Celsius/21.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which is quite okay. Down in the community garden, we won't be doing much to protect anything except mulching Hedychium gardneranium, which is growing well, and Strelitzia reginae, a CIDP that was simply cut down by the stupid assistant of the caretaker, excuse my language, which we will wrap up, although I have to check again to see if it is still alive. We have to cover the balcony again with several layers of fleece, styrofoam, and fairy lights, otherwise it won't work, and we have to do it in the next 10 days.
I hope everyone has a mild winter in their own zone...

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Latest update. Our predicted low Wednesday was lowered to 40F this morning. Not what I had hoped.

[SeanK]

19 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Latest update. Our predicted low Wednesday was lowered to 40F this morning. Not what I had hoped.

Probably bottom out on Tuesday morning. But a prolonged cool spell for your tropical stuff. 

[Xenon]

Forecast was for low 40s in town and 30s in the far outer suburbs but it's above 40F for almost the entire metro area. Houston urban core and heading southeast towards Galveston Bay sitting at 45-47F.

 

South Louisiana and MS Gulf look about as forecast

 

Front has an eastern bias so it's hardly cold in S Texas

[UK_Palms]

I see Americans complaining about impending cold on the eastern half of the country, but the truth is there isn’t really any cold for us to tap into in North America or Europe. The vortex and all of the proper cold is situated over Eastern Asia and Siberia. The Canadian vortex looks dead at this moment in time.

The upcoming cool snap in the eastern USA is more notable because it is early, rather than due to the intensity. The lack of a Canadian vortex means some cool air can spill down easily, rather than it being tied up in Canada. But what is trickling down is pretty minimal. Not much cause for concern. The air mass is just not very cold at all. Just like over Canada, which is under record levels of warmth currently.

Similarly in Europe there isn’t really any cold air to tap into, certainly away from Scandinavia. It’s massively above average, i. Part due to the air being out east. The problems will come when all that cold air over Eastern Asia and Russia decides to shift in one of our directions. If it comes our way, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Scotland will get absolutely annihilated. If it heads over to Canada, it could severely impact the northern half of the USA going into December. It will need watching.

 

Right now it is Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Korea etc that is in the freezer and it will stay that way for the next week or so at least. Alaska also affected a bit currently by the cold reaching eastwards from Russia. All that cold is going to shift at some point though. Almost certainly into Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, but maybe some into Canada too, especially if the vortex splits or high pressure blocking moves into Canada or expands over Greenland much more. One side of the ‘pond’ will probably get hit in late November / early December.

[MarcusH]

22 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Latest update. Our predicted low Wednesday was lowered to 40F this morning. Not what I had hoped.

If we see some below average cold fronts this winter I definitely lose my hope for mild winters. I believe colder , below average winters will be the norm . Climate is changing for sure.  

[MarcusH]

We buttomed out at 40.6 degrees . 2 degrees warmer than predicted.  That's the first strong cold front . Every other front that's heading our way should be more severe.  I saw 28f in the forecast for Pensacola.  A freeze is just around the corner for San Antonio 

[Chester B]

I’m at 36/37f just before sunrise.  No signs of frost on the roofs or car windows. 
 

I looked at Florida and it’s kind of shocking how far down the cold made it.  

[UK_Palms]

4 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I’m at 36/37f just before sunrise.  No signs of frost on the roofs or car windows. 
 

I looked at Florida and it’s kind of shocking how far down the cold made it.  

Goodness me stations are showing -6C / 21F even in parts of northwest Florida. Nowhere in the UK has got anywhere near that cold this season, so far. That is quite surprising to see. Air frosts in the centre of the state even at sunrise.

 

[SeanK]

On 11/9/2025 at 10:01 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

Latest update. Our predicted low Wednesday was lowered to 40F this morning. Not what I had hoped.

Is this what you're seeing this morning? 

°C