Florida FREEZE and Tropical Plant Damage: Coldest Since 1989

[gatorcane]

we are cooling rapidly here. this could be a rough night. i saw a couple of adonidias that were exposed that got nuked pretty good but the sheltered ones look ok.

Yeah I notice those types of palms are very sensitive to cold, even more so than the malaysian dwarf coconut palms and royals it seems.

Anyway, latest SAT image shows a nice deck of mid-level cloudiness stretched across SE FL. If that sticks around, we'll be OK here. However it looks like it is gradually shifting more SE.

[txagwxman]

a quick walk around my neighborhood reveals a delightful lack of damage. the temp here loitered around 31 most of the night and it just didn't get cold enough. i was specifically looking for ornamentals that show immediate damage after a freeze. the freezes last year were worse around here and that damage was negligible. tonight should be colder so we're not off the hook but nws has boosted my point and click low from 25 to 28...so that's a big improvement

unfortunately here myself and a neighbor behind us are were showing signs of damage yesterday and today it is even worse. Most all of our palms leaves, even palmettos are -yellow-reddish as more and more of the leaves show their damage. It was amazing to watch them yesterday as the winds howled you could almost see them turning. I am afraid of what another night of this will do. I am also concerned for my plumerias and gardenias. I did pull some sticks from the plumeria a few days ago just in case.

I do know that we suffered from temps at 31 for more than a couple of hours here just west of north central palm beach county. It was more like 4 to 5.

In NW Houston there is nothing but palm tree damage....every single palm tree has turned brown at least on the NW side where it got to 16-18F the last 2 nights.

[Extremeweatherguy]

10pm statewide temperatures...

Crestview - 21F
Tallahassee - 20F
Jacksonville - 34F
Ocala - 28F
Daytona Beach - 34F
Brooksville - 30F
Tampa - 33F
Orlando (Intl. airport) - 34F
Orlando (Exec. airport) - 35F
Melbourne - 34F
Fort Myers - 36F
West Palm Beach - 40F
Miami - 43F
Key West - 50F

[gatorcane]

a quick walk around my neighborhood reveals a delightful lack of damage. the temp here loitered around 31 most of the night and it just didn't get cold enough. i was specifically looking for ornamentals that show immediate damage after a freeze. the freezes last year were worse around here and that damage was negligible. tonight should be colder so we're not off the hook but nws has boosted my point and click low from 25 to 28...so that's a big improvement

unfortunately here myself and a neighbor behind us are were showing signs of damage yesterday and today it is even worse. Most all of our palms leaves, even palmettos are -yellow-reddish as more and more of the leaves show their damage. It was amazing to watch them yesterday as the winds howled you could almost see them turning. I am afraid of what another night of this will do. I am also concerned for my plumerias and gardenias. I did pull some sticks from the plumeria a few days ago just in case.

I do know that we suffered from temps at 31 for more than a couple of hours here just west of north central palm beach county. It was more like 4 to 5.

In NW Houston there is nothing but palm tree damage....every single palm tree has turned brown at least on the NW side where it got to 16-18F the last 2 nights.

With those types of temps, do you expect them to recover? Also what types of palms, even Sabal palms which are typically more cold-hardy?

Here is a look at temps across FL as of 10:00PM EST. Looks like some relative warmth trying to hang on across Southern FL but the dewpoints across the entire peninsula even down into Miami-Dade are in the mid 20s.

[Scorpion]

Wow Tallahassee is cold

[gatorcane]

Inspection of WV loop tonight confirms the NWS Miami updated discussion. That is, no clouds around to prevent good radiational cooling.You can see all of that dry air (orange) pushing down from the Northern Part of the state and Northern GOM, right down the spine of the peninsula. Should clear mainland S. FL and the FL keys within the next few hours.

Tonight is likely to be colder than last night. Very curious how cold it gets tonight but it could get pretty ugly in terms of sensitive vegetation damage. I think nearly the entire FL peninsula will freeze except right along the immediate coast Central and S. FL and in more urbanized areas of Southern FL (Broward/Miami-Dade) where an urban heating effect could keep the temps hovering just above freezing a few degrees.

[psyclone]

curiously, temps are running substantially warmer in west central florida vs 24 hours ago. it's 5 degrees warmer in tampa and a full 10 degrees warmer in brooksville. moreover, TPA has actually bounced a degree from an earlier 33 degree reading.

[gatorcane]

curiously, temps are running substantially warmer in west central florida vs 24 hours ago. it's 5 degrees warmer in tampa and a full 10 degrees warmer in brooksville. moreover, TPA has actually bounced a degree from an earlier 33 degree reading.

Yes I noticed that. The temp increase at both PIE and TPA must be the result of the fact the wind has actually picked up in the past hour or so. Both sites show an increase in wind with that 1F degree temp increase. I do notice winds here in the West Palm Beach area are still blowing pretty strong. I estimate some gusts up to 15+ mph. So I think some mixing is happening.

[Extremeweatherguy]

12am statewide temperatures...

Crestview - 19F (at 11pm)
Tallahassee - 24F
Jacksonville - 31F
Ocala - 27F
Daytona Beach - 32F
Brooksville - 30F
Tampa - 33F
Orlando (Intl. airport) - 32F
Orlando (Exec. airport) - 33F
Melbourne - N/A
Fort Myers - 34F
West Palm Beach - 37F
Miami - 40F

[srainhoutx]

Records are being shattered in the Keys. Here is what Key West issued tonight...snipet...WOW!

.CLIMATE...
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY AT KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS
ONLY 52 DEGREES. THIS SET THE DAILY RECORD FOR COLDEST HIGH
TEMPERATURE MEASURED IN KEY WEST ON JANUARY 10TH. THE PREVIOUS
RECORD WAS 55 DEGREES SET ON THIS DATE IN 1970. THE RECORD MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE IN KEY WEST FOR JANUARY 11TH IS 48 DEGREES ALSO SET IN
1970. THIS DAILY RECORD WILL BE BROKEN TONIGHT.

THE TEMPERATURE AT KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS FALLEN BELOW
50 DEGREES ALREADY...MAKING THIS THE 5TH CONSECUTIVE NIGHT WITH LOW
TEMPERATURES BELOW 50 DEGREES IN KEY WEST. THIS IS THE SECOND
LONGEST STRETCH OF DAYS WITH LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 50 DEGREES IN
KEY WEST SINCE TEMPERATURE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1872. THE LONGEST
STRETCH OF DAYS WITH LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 50 DEGREES IN KEY WEST
OCCURRED FROM DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 6TH OF 1876.

[srainhoutx]

Key West missed the All Time Record by 1 degree this morning...snipet...

.CLIMATE...
THE LOW TEMPERATURE AT KEY WEST AIRPORT HAS ALREADY DROPPED TO 42
DEGREES AS OF 5 AM. THIS SMASHES THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD LOW OF 48
DEGREES WHICH WAS SET IN 1970. ONLY TWO LOWER TEMPERATURES HAVE EVER
BEEN RECORDED IN KEY WEST...WHICH ARE THE ALL-TIME RECORD LOWS OF 41
DEGREES ON JANUARY 13 1981 AND JANUARY 12 1886. TEMPERATURE RECORDS
IN KEY WEST DATE BACK TO 1873. WITH A COUPLE OF HOURS YET TO GO
BEFORE SUNRISE...THERE IS STILL A WINDOW FOR FURTHER COOLING TO
OCCUR...AND WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR TEMPS VERY CLOSELY.

ALSO OF NOTE IS THAT KEY WEST HAS NOW SEEN FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH
LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 50 DEGREES (JANUARY 7TH-11TH). THIS IS THE
SECOND LONGEST SUCH STREAK RECORDED IN KEY WEST. THE LONGEST STREAK OF
DAYS WITH LOW TEMPS BELOW 50 DEGREES OCCURRED DECEMBER 1-6 1876. WE
WILL HAVE A DECENT CHANCE TO TIE THAT RECORD STREAK EARLY ON TUESDAY
MORNING...WHEN THE LOW TEMPERATURE IN KEY WEST COULD DROP SLIGHTLY
BELOW 50 DEGREES.

ONE MORE CLIMATE NOTE...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES OBSERVED
AT KEY WEST ON JANUARY 10TH WAS THE COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDED
HERE IN ALMOST 70 YEARS...SINCE JANUARY 28 1940...WHEN THE HIGH TEMP
WAS ALSO JUST 52 DEGREES. ONLY TWO COLDER HIGH TEMPERATURES HAVE
EVER BEEN RECORDED IN KEY WEST...51 DEGREES ON JANUARY 26 1905...AND
THE ALL-TIME COLDEST HIGH TEMP OF 48 DEGREES ON DECEMBER 29 1894.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Wow, that is pretty amazing.

[JPmia]

I was in Key West last weekend and it was very odd to pack a winter coat on my trip down and to see people walking around the streets of Key West in scarfs and coats. The heat wasn't working well in my hotel and I asked the front desk when the last time the heat was on and the guy said - We never use the heat!

[HeatherAKC]

Posted this on the USA forum, but wanted to post here, too.

To add to my other post: I have one of those "frozen" iguana's in my back yard. He's been there since yesterday and I've read that they can be "frozen" like that for up to 3 days. He's on day two. I will take a photo of him when I go home to lunch. I hope he's long gone by then, though.

[gatorcane]

Looking at the latest NWS Miami discussion on how cold it got last night, lows last night across SE FL were generally above freezing across most of the habitable areas of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade as shown by the nice graphic they have which shows where the 32F and below temps were at:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mfl/news ... an2010.pdf

Looking at the tropicals in these counties, shows minor, if any, damage, which is good news.

Further north, along the I4 corridor and into the Tampa Bay area, I suspect we are going to see some damage reports coming in because it was very cold in this part of FL. In the Tampa Bay area, the numbers are pretty staggering and the duration of the cold is quite impressive indeed. Another round of freezes should happen tonight across Central FL away from the coasts.

BELOW ARE SOME OTHER LOW TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING FROM SITES ACROSS THE REGION.
LOW THIS
LOCATION COUNTY MORNING

BRONSON (FAWN) LEVY 17
LOWER SUWANNEE RVR (RAWS) LEVY 20
CEDAR KEY (CMAN) LEVY 28
HOLDER (CW1327) CITRUS 14
CRYSTAL RIVER (CGC AWOS) CITRUS 16
INVERNESS (X40 AWOS) CITRUS 18
FLORAL CITY (CW7082) CITRUS 24
BROOKSVILLE (BKV ASOS) HERNANDO 14
BROOKSVILLE (FAWN) HERNANDO 18
BROOKSVILLE (K4TR) HERNANDO 21
HERNANDO BEACH (CW6533) HERNANDO 29
BUSHNELL (CW8067) SUMTER 22
THE VILLAGES (VVG AWOS) SUMTER 23
NORTH DADE CITY (CW2672) PASCO 23
WESLEY CHAPEL (KB1ATL) PASCO 24
DADE CITY (PMSFL) PASCO 25
ARIPEKA (COMPS) PASCO 27
PORT RICHEY (COMPS) PASCO 28
HUDSON (DW0745) PASCO 30
ANCLOTE GULF PARK (COMPS) PASCO 31
PALM HARBOR (CW5072) PINELLAS 26
KENNETH CITY (KF4KUL) PINELLAS 27
OLDSMAR (CW2932) PINELLAS 27
CLEARWATER (N4BSA) PINELLAS 28
CLEARWATER BEACH (PIER 60) PINELLAS 32
ST PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER (PIE) PINELLAS 32
TAMPA EXECUTIVE (VDF) HILLSBOROUGH 19
VALRICO (WX4DAN) HILLSBOROUGH 19
DOVER (FAWN) HILLSBOROUGH 22
LITHIA (DW1923) HILLSBOROUGH 22
GIBSONTON (DW10460) HILLSBOROUGH 23
BALM (FAWN) HILLSBOROUGH 25
RUSKIN (NWS OFFICE) HILLSBOROUGH 26
SUN CITY CENTER (N1ZK) HILLSBOROUGH 26
MACDILL AFB (MCF) HILLSBOROUGH 27
PLANT CITY MUNICIPAL (PCM) HILLSBOROUGH 27
PETER O KNIGHT (TPF) HILLSBOROUGH 30
EGMONT KEY (COMPS) HILLSBOROUGH 36
KATHLEEN (CW6582) POLK 16
LAKELAND HIGHLANDS (NZ4O) POLK 22
POLK CITY (WC4PEM-9) POLK 22
BARTOW (BOW AWOS) POLK 27
DUNDEE (WC4PEM-15) POLK 27
FROSTPROOF (FAWN) POLK 28
LAKE ALFRED (FAWN) POLK 26
FORT GREEN 12 WSW (FTGF1) MANATEE 24
SOUTH BRADENTON (CW7601) MANATEE 27
BRADENTON (KB4SYV) MANATEE 31
ANNA MARIA (COMPS) MANATEE 36
NORTH PORT (FAWN) SARASOTA 27
VENICE (CMAN) SARASOTA 31
ONA (FAWN) HARDEE 25
WAUCHULA (HARDEE EOC) HARDEE 28
ARCADIA (FAWN) DESOTO 24
VENUS (CW7827) HIGHLANDS 23
DESOTO CITY 8 SW (DSOF1) HIGHLANDS 28
LAKE WALES (RAWS NR SEBRING) HIGHLANDS 29
SEBRING (FAWN) HIGHLANDS 31
PORT CHARLOTTE CHARLOTTE 23
LEHIGH ACRES (DW1790) LEE 28
CAPE CORAL (CW3609) LEE 30
FORT MYERS - SW INTL (RSW ASOS) LEE 30
DING DARLING NWR (RAWS) LEE 33
BIG CARLOS PASS (COMPS) LEE 34
ST JAMES CITY (CW3181) LEE 34
BOKEELIA (DW2928) LEE 35

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/tbw/TopN ... pdate5.pdf

[Stephanie]

When I went to work today it was around 20 degrees. I then realized that it was the same temperatures that all of you are experiencing down there and it's too hard to believe.

[gatorcane]

Already freezing in Clearwater. It's colder now than it was last night at this time:

11 22:53 S 3 8.00 Fair CLR 32 29 30.42 1030.1
11 21:53 S 3 8.00 Fair CLR 32 28 30.43 1030.2
11 20:53 Calm 10.00 Fair CLR 31 28 30.41 1029.8
11 19:53 N 5 10.00 Fair CLR 37 30 30.40 1029.5

http://www.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KPIE.html

[psyclone]

it's stupid cold here again. 31 right now with frost developing in open areas after a monday morning temp of 27. I feel like i'm back in my native northeast ohio...minus the shoveling of course:)

[JonathanBelles]

Well the cold is going to have long lasting impacts in Central Florida. Several "frostquake" type sinkholes have opened up in the strawberry fields and under houses. Most of the holes are very large according to the news.

[dizzyfish]

Did you hear that they had to close down 27 in both directions(Bartow area I believe) due to two sinkholes? 27 is a major roadway for Central Florida.