FROSTY NIGHT, BUT WHY?
Written By: Scott Hetsko
Since the growing season is 3 weeks ahead of schedule, frost forming overnight could cause problems for area fruit farmers. I expect the deepest and most protected valleys to fall in the 26-30 degree range between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Friday morning. Local gardners and farmers should protect vegitation that might be hurt by cold temperatures. All you need is a few hours near or just below 32 to kill many plants.
Why is tonight a good night for frost? Technically we will get RADIATION FROST which is frost that forms on cold, clear nights with little or no wind. On nights like tonight, the temperature will fall toward the frost point (dewpoint). This occurs rapidly at first after sunset but slows as humidity in the air increases. Many objects such as cars, grass, rooftops get colder than the surrounding air. This is the perfect breeding ground for frost and we'll see alot of it Friday morning.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteHow serious of a situation could this end up being for the local farmers? Will farmers be able to protect against this one, or will it be too hard of a freeze to do anything about it? The last thing our local farmers need right now is crop failures and a loss to the local economy.
Wasn't too bad, they were able to handle it well
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