Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Intheswamp on February 28, 2013, 05:18:11 pm

Title: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Intheswamp on February 28, 2013, 05:18:11 pm
Here in my area of south central Alabama the next two nights' lows are predicted to be 32F.  Sunday and Monday mornings are supposed to be in the upper 20F's.  Lots of the fruit trees in the area are well into bloom as are other things.  Not sure how bad it will be on them.  :(

Ed
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: brushwoodnursery on February 28, 2013, 08:21:50 pm
Fingers crossed up here, too.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: AllenF on February 28, 2013, 09:54:48 pm
Normally here, we get our last frost closer to Easter.  About when the blueberries start to bloom every year. 
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Kathyp on February 28, 2013, 10:28:05 pm
from my S. Cal experience with citrus, they can usually take a lite freeze.  other fruit trees can also.  my stuff often blooms here and survives several frosts.  apples, cherries, plumbs, pears....
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Intheswamp on March 01, 2013, 12:39:48 am
I hear ya on the Easter snap...don't plant the 'maters before Easter. ;)

Looks like they're calling for 27F Sunday morning and Monday morning.

Ed
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: 10framer on March 01, 2013, 02:35:26 am
plums survived the hit last week up here.  you'll probably be ok.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Intheswamp on March 01, 2013, 10:53:03 am
 :? Ok, they're now predicting snow flurries tonight and in the morning....still 32F predicted for tonight but they've raised the temp for Sunday and Monday mornings up a degree to 28F.  We'll see...

Ed
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Kathyp on March 01, 2013, 02:00:16 pm
snow is better.  it insulates.  i'd much rather have snow on everything than dry cold.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Joe D on March 01, 2013, 02:33:23 pm
We're about the same here Ed.  They are predicting possible flurries tonight. 




Joe
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Moots on March 01, 2013, 03:10:16 pm
Looks like we'll fair a little better!

Although, now that I've become a weather watcher b/c of the bees....somethings just don't make sense and really bother me! 

According to weather.com, the 10-day forecast shows the Gonzales, LA forecast as follows: 

Saturday with a high of 53° and a low of 32°...Yet, the same website on it's hourly forecast for the entire day of Saturday never shows the temperature below 38°.  :?

They show Sunday with a high of 57° and a low of 41°, yet the hourly forecast extending into Sunday morning shows the temperature at 5AM as  33°  :?

Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: gov1623 on March 01, 2013, 05:37:21 pm
Looks like we'll fair a little better!

Although, now that I've become a weather watcher b/c of the bees....somethings just don't make sense and really bother me!  

According to weather.com, the 10-day forecast shows the Gonzales, LA forecast as follows:  

Saturday with a high of 53° and a low of 32°...Yet, the same website on it's hourly forecast for the entire day of Saturday never shows the temperature below 38°.  :?

They show Sunday with a high of 57° and a low of 41°, yet the hourly forecast extending into Sunday morning shows the temperature at 5AM as  33°  :?








The Saturday low is actually for Saturday night and the Sunday low is for Sunday night. So the low it shows for Saturday is actually Sunday morning.  
I see how this can be confusing. I hope this clears it up.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Moots on March 01, 2013, 05:50:04 pm
The Saturday low is actually for Saturday night and the Sunday low is for Sunday night. So the low it shows for Saturday is actually Sunday morning.  
I see how this can be confusing. I hope this clears it up.

Gov,
I had thought about that as a possible explanation...so, if "Saturday" isn't truly "Saturday", midnight to midnight, what's the cutoff???

Are they on a 05:00 to 05:00, 06:00 to 06:00, 07:00 to 07:00, or later definition of a "day"...Sunday morning doesn't get above 41° until after 08:00!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not losing sleep over it, just one of those things that make me go Hmm, What's up with that?
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: gov1623 on March 01, 2013, 05:55:36 pm
I really don't think it has a time cutoff. It is just saying Saturday night will get to 32. If you click on details for each day on the 10 day forecast page, the low will be for that day's night.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Georgia Boy on March 01, 2013, 07:07:36 pm
Wow that helped a lot.  :-D

Now everything is clear as mud.  :lau: :lau: :lau: :lau:

Now my head hurts.  Toooo much thinking. :)
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Moots on March 01, 2013, 07:21:12 pm
I really don't think it has a time cutoff. It is just saying Saturday night will get to 32. If you click on details for each day on the 10 day forecast page, the low will be for that day's night.

Gov,
LOL! I hear you...and not to  :deadhorse: :deadhorse: :deadhorse: :deadhorse: :deadhorse: BUT....

If they're going to say "Saturday night will get to 32", at some point, don't they have to define what's "Saturday night" ???  Personally, I think a day starts and ends at midnight.  But hey, they can pick any 24 hour chunk they want to call a day, but shouldn't that be a constant and a known variable?

My apologies for hijacking the thread...maybe unraveling this mystery of life is worthy of it's own thread??? On second thought, probably not!  :-D
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: gov1623 on March 01, 2013, 10:21:48 pm
Yep,
 I dont make the rules i just follow them
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Moots on March 01, 2013, 10:33:39 pm
Yep,
 I dont make the rules i just follow them

I'm willing to follow them...I just want to KNOW them!  :-D
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: BlueBee on March 02, 2013, 12:20:56 am
Michigan is the 3rd largest apple growing state in the nation.  We had 90% losses last year from our warm March followed by a cold spell while blooming.  90% losses, some $100 million down the tubes.  Not a single apple on my trees and I’ve got a bunch of bee hives next to them.  Same thing with cherries.  Despite wishful thinking by beeks, Physics still wins.

http://climatecrocks.com/2012/06/30/apple-crop-destroyed-90-percent-loss-in-michigan-ontario-due-to-bizarre-spring-deniers-more-co2-needed/ (http://climatecrocks.com/2012/06/30/apple-crop-destroyed-90-percent-loss-in-michigan-ontario-due-to-bizarre-spring-deniers-more-co2-needed/)

http://blog.syracuse.com/farms/2012/07/michigan_tart_cherry_crop_near.html (http://blog.syracuse.com/farms/2012/07/michigan_tart_cherry_crop_near.html)
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: oliver on March 02, 2013, 07:48:10 am
100% loss of fruit here last year, warm march then a freeze, 1st time we had seen this, so it can happen..
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Intheswamp on March 02, 2013, 12:23:52 pm
My thermometer shows it got down to 31F last night...a degree colder than predicted.  They have dropped the low in the morning back down to 27F but raised the low Monday morning to 29F.  After that a gradual warm-up. 

Ed
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: capt44 on March 02, 2013, 05:35:07 pm
To give you an idea of what to look forward too here in Central Arkansas it's colder than who thought it.
Right now it's 3:30PM and it's 41 degrees F. and a wind chill of 28degrees F.
We've had snow flurries all day.
Suppose to be in the mid 50's tomorrow.
Peach trees are taking a big hit here.
And my bees are clustered up tighter'n a politician on election nite. :shock:
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: hardwood on March 02, 2013, 05:50:44 pm
They detected snow flurries here this morning but it all melted by the time it hit 3,000 ft.  It never got below 42 here.

Scott
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Beeboy01 on March 03, 2013, 08:48:19 pm
Toook a hit with the last frost on my orange trees. Lost about half the blooms even when covered with canvas. The weather man is calling for another frost tonight and I haven't had time to get the trees covered this time. Looks like I'll loose the rest of the blooms and fruit sets. Inspected the hives last week when it was in the low 80's and discovered that my veil didn't fit right. Got stung just over the left eye under the eyebrow with the hive torn down to the bottom board. Had to just take it till I got the hive back together again and I ended up looking like I went a couple rounds with Mike Tyson.
  Don't know about this weird weather we are having, this frost is going to kill a lot of eary blooms and my hives are strong but light. 
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: Georgia Boy on March 03, 2013, 09:24:53 pm
Sorry to hear about you loss to the frost but glad to hear your hive are doing well.

Tell me about the weather.  Woke up to a dusting of snow this morning myself. :) A nice surprise.

Hope it won't hurt the early blooms anymore.

Good luck.

David
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: capt44 on March 04, 2013, 12:16:33 am
Well this mawn'n it was 17.3 degrees here in Central Arkansas but as soon as the sun came up it warmed to 51 degrees F.
Suppose to be 62 here Monday.
Title: Re: Southeast...fruit trees blooming, freeze this weekend...
Post by: dfizer on March 04, 2013, 05:51:41 pm
wow capt... that weather sounds like the recipe to get sick!  better take an extra spoonful of honey!

David