Winter Solstice is at 4:47 pm EST, less than half an hour from now.
While it won’t come close to breaking the 1899 brutal winter or the records set in 1962, it will likely be the coldest snap in Florida since 1977. Orlando and Tampa will likely be spared the worst of the brutal cold, but Ocala and most of the northern peninsula will have lows in the mid 20’s for two days and could have 4 consecutive days of subfreezing lows.
But for winter crops in the northern peninsula, it will definitely be a disaster.
It is mostly a dry system, but it is possible, given Florida’s plethora of lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, that they could get brief lake effect flurries in limited areas, mostly near the Gulf Coast. A lot of Floridians in the north peninsula will see at least a few snowflakes.
Most likely the freeze won’t reach down to orange groves, which for the most part are south of Orlando, growers having abandoned more northern locations due to previous freezers.
The issue is with cash crops such as Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mustard, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Turnips and also strawberries. All are grown during the Florida winter growing season.
The Siberian cold front, or whatever they’re calling it, got to us here in NJ by late afternoon, early evening. But it’s 11 degrees with a -3 wind chill now.
