IAP 12.310
January 2008
Significant U.S. Weather Events
Florida Freeze (Jan 3, 2008)
Can parts of Central Florida get below freezing?
Yes, yes it can, as shown in the picture below:
(AP / Tampa Tribune, Robert Burke)
But before we talk about the Florida freeze, what did the last 10 days
over the continental US look like?
The colors show the surface air temperature.
Notice on the first image, the purple colors (corresponding to about
-10 C) is in central Canada. By image 8 of 10 (Jan 3rd) ,
the cold air “sinks” into Boston, which is indicated by the first plot
(in red) of the next figure.
The temperature graph clearly shows the cold air entering on January 3rd.
(The wind chill that morning was -15 F). In fact this cold air “sank”
all the way into Florida.
In Tampa, the temperature dropped below
freezing. So what’s the big deal? Well, with it being below
freezing for greater than 4 hours, there is a
threat of damage to citrus trees and other
fruits including strawberries. Furthermore, at some
point down the road, this will likely, among other fruit related
products,
drive orange juice prices up.
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