In Henderson County, the unseasonably warm weather in the last part of February continued into early March, but there was quite a cold snap last week and at the beginning of this week that could have caused major damage to local apple crops.
According to Mark Williams, executive director of Agribusiness Henderson County, the official first day of spring, it's a trend he's seen happen many times in Western North Carolina. According to the National Weather Service in Greenville, S.C., from February 13 - 28, the high temperatures in Henderson County were 50 degrees or above, with the highest temperature being 72 degrees on February 28. Of those dates, only February 18 had a low below freezing (26 degrees).
March began relatively warm without a night below freezing until March 13, when the low got down to 31 degrees. The cold stayed in the area for the past week, and since March 13, seven of the past eight nights have been below freezing, including five nights in the 20s.
Source: eu.blueridgenow.com