Huh. Both the NAM and the GFS are warmer here in Iowa now than they had been a few runs ago. Looks like the cold is more centered your way.
Local stations are still calling for the same temps though. Hedging their bets? We will see.
I’m still covering my plum which isn’t very big but loaded with blooms, and my grapes.
My Goldrush is also loaded and while I’m loath to let it freeze flowers off it could probably use a year of not fruiting and just getting established since I moved it last year.
Crazy to hear about these freezes (hopefully everyone’s plants make it through!).
Forecast high of 97 tomorrow where I am near Sacramento (9b). Worried about my plants for the opposite reason - unusually high heat and consistent 15-18mph winds have been drying everything out. At least we are forecast for a quick cool down (68 on Tues!) and possible rain Mon/Tues which is rather late for this region.
Weird times
I think locally we’ll be ok outside of the cold areas of central Wisconsin and areas north. The coldest air moves across this afternoon…and it is cold…-11C at 850mb… if that was in place overnight with clear skies/calm wind we’d be looking at mid 20Fs probably… but that air quickly moves out this evening and warms overnight so while temps don’t go anywhere today (38F right now)… we shouldn’t drop off too bad overnight. Tomorrow should rebound quickly to 60F ish… Monday morning might be more of an issue here for a good frost setup… still cold air in place.
The heat is on in the extended… back right into the 80Fs… once we get out of this after next week.
Went out to cover strawberries and it started snowing. Low of 27 forecast.
I’ve really been poring over the various forecast models. The key seems to be how warm it will be at midnight, and when the rain and clouds clears out. Most models have anywhere from 28 to 32 at daybreak. Good thing is that it won’t be below freezing all night, prob only 3 or so hours, even tho that could still do a lot of damage. It’s looking like central KY could get it worse than us, like down around 26-28 degrees.
Of course, our actual temps have been 3-6 degrees below forecast temps, so I’m hoping these forecast temps will be more accurate.
But, after this, we’ll have mid 30s for tomorrow and Mon nights to deal with too.
It started light showering about 10am, now the rain’s getting heavier, temp has been holding around 53 for a few hours. Just a dreary nasty day outside.
The air here is bone dry. This is like a January air mass. Dewpoint in single digits…like the desert.
Nice current temp map from Nws…you can move it around the country/zoom in…click on the obs to get more info/etc…like google maps.
https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?&zoom=7&scroll_zoom=true¢er=44.5,-91.0&basemap=OpenStreetMap&boundaries=true,false,false&obs=true&obs_type=weather&elements=temp,wind,gust&obs_popup=false&obs_density=1
NWS Minneapolis had some funny tweets… Chance of snow this weekend…1st time since 1946 on Mother’s Day.
No flooding this year. Not much rain in the forecast.
Yeah, it’s one thing to deal with these freezes, but the rain is maddening. It has been pouring here in the last hour or so, and we’re in for more rain for at least another 4-6 hours.
I can look out the window to see the big garden plot down the hill I plowed about two weeks ago is a quagmire. I can also see the plot I planted my new strawberries is almost totally flooded.
It’s rains like this in early spring that keep us from planting anything before Memorial Day, because we can’t work the ground when it’s mud. Getting the tractor out when it’s so damp guarantees big, ugly ruts in the ground.
These constant rains we get are probably the reason a lot of my fruit trees get root rot. I lost one apple tree over the winter because of this, and another bigger tree is on it’s way out. Last year it hardly leafed out at all, and this year it bloomed, but again, there’s hardly any leaves on it now, compared to the other apple trees.
The GOES loop shows the cold dry Canadian polar vortex air making its way towards you. There isn’t a cloud in the sky here but it’s bitter cold out there. My plants need jackets on.
3rd week of May shows a return of summer…
Good luck tonight…but it’s the sun was shining here just before sunset…so cloud cover is missing.
45 and falling here.
Still not sure of how low it will go…but about all I have left is blueberries. And they’ll be fine.
A buddy north of Madison, WI texted me at 5 a.m. from his turkey blind. 28 degrees there. We had some cloud cover here, so it only got down to around 32.
We got down to 23.5F and today’s forecast has been revised to a high of 33 and down to 24 tonight. Looks like we won’t be past freezing nights until Thursday.
Sparta, WI was 17F and Black River Falls just north was 14F… Probably some ice on Lake Wazee this morning. BRF is already 47F. I bet on the ridge tops it stayed much warmer.
29F here for the low. Looks like we warm back above 60F… get some rain…and then another shot of frost Mon and Tues…
Two freezing nights in a row, with 28 or 29 for tonight. I’m in 6b between Lexington and Staunton VA The bad part is my trees are too big to cover now. The good part is I’ve already lost all my pears, peaches, and plums, and I have very few apples to worry about. I’m trying to stay positive, focus on my grafts and tree wellness. I am SO disappointed because it looked like a great year for pears, Asian and European, as well as peach trees with a good fruit set.
Hoping to hear some positive comments to keep me going. I retired in early April with high hopes for focusing on my fruit, and its just not turning out the way I had hoped.
Try some blueberries or honeyberries…they’re fairly frost proof.
But, most years you get apples–about once a decade they seem to fail almost completely.
Positive comments:
You live in the greatest country ever!
You’re better looking and smarter than you’re neighbors!
You’re dog likes you!
Next year will be better!
as much as i love tree fruit I’m equally thankful for my bush and cane fruits. no mater what mother nature throws at us they always produce fruit with little to no care. more labor intensive to pick but also are the most healthy and nutrient dense of all fruit. berries and nuts are the basis of my orchard with tree fruits 2nd. a lot less money invested in berries and nuts also because 1 plant can produce dozens in a year.
Gooseberries are good… Any small fruits do well…black raspberries, strawberries (can be covered easily), raspberries… you can also grow various melons.
Clouds moving thru…impressive looking storm on sat… Alberta clipper…May edition!
Discouraging
