US: Florida oranges survive cold snap without major damage
“All in all I would not call it a non-event but in general the industry came through in pretty good shape,” said Andrew Meadows, spokesman for Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest citrus grower organization with nearly 8,000 members. Meadows said there was some damage in low-lying areas. Young trees in the southwest were exposed and could be affected. Statewide there were a reports of ice on fruit and some leaf damage but nothing widespread, Meadows told msnbc.com.
"Without a doubt, last night we were scared," David Mixon, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Seald Sweet International of Vero Beach, told The Packer, a publication covering the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. "An hour or a degree here or there could have hurt us. We got by by the skin of our teeth." Forecasters say temperatures will remain chilly but slowly warm up starting Thursday. Significant damage to citrus crops isn’t expected, since most of these groves are much farther south compared to decades ago, according to accuweather.com.
Orange juice futures surged to a five-month high Wednesday after the first major freeze hit Florida's main citrus-growing region. Florida is the world’s second-biggest grower of oranges, behind Brazil. The majority of Florida’s oranges are used by juicers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Florida will produce 147 million boxes of oranges this season, a 5 percent increase from last season.
In addition to citrus growers, manatees and tropical fish farmers also appear to have escaped the cold snap without serious damage. Hundreds of manatees huddled together on Tuesday in the warm waters of the Tampa Electric Company's power plant in Apollo Beach. Fish farmers and strawberry growers in Hillsborough and Polk counties also took steps to protect their crops. One tropical fish farmer in Lakeland said he expected his fish to be stressed, but not die like they did during the prolonged cold snap in early 2010.
Setting records
A handful of record-low temps were tied or broken overnight into Wednesday, according to NBC News:
Record low set at Gainesville: A low of 20 degrees breaks the old record of 22 set in 1900.
Record low tied at Jacksonville: A low of 22 degrees ties the old record of 22 set in 1887.
Record low tied at Tallahassee: The low of 18 degrees at Tallahassee Wednesday morning ties the previous record of 18 set in 1928.
Record low tied at Apalachicola: The low of 26 degrees ties the previous record of 26 set in 2010.
Record low at Archbold biological station: The low of 16 degrees broke the record for the date of 28 set in 2001 and 1984.
Record low set at Alma: A low of 19 degrees breaks the old record of 21 set in 2001.
Source: msnbc.msn.com