Will the Arctic Cold Front Cause Severe Weather and Damage to Crops?

In summary, the weather is gradually changing from cold to warmer temperatures. The forecast for tomorrow predicts that there will be winds between 20 and 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. This will create significant blowing and drifting of snow with near blizzard conditions possible at times. Visibilities will be reduced to below one half mile, making roads near impossible to travel on. The cold wind chill values will be widespread, ranging from 20 to 30 below zero. There is a potential for life-threatening situations due to the dangerously cold temperatures. Additionally, my aunt and uncle own a large strawberry farm and citrus orchard near Tampa, FL and stand to lose the entire crop due to the hard long freeze.
  • #316
WhoWee said:
Snow-blower? Fire up that tractor turbo!
Well, you got your wish. We got around 7" of snow yesterday that turned to rain, and then freezing rain. My snow-blower could never have handled an inch of pure slush on the bottom, the wet snow over that, and the crusty ice on the top without plugging. I used the tractor. It took longer than removing a normal storm here, but this stuff was so nasty and heavy that removing it by hand and/or with a snow-blower would have been frustrating in the extreme.

We don't get long thaws here, so leaving all that crap on the ground was not an option. It had to be removed. My asphalt drive certainly suffered, though I worked hard to minimize the damage. At least I was able to move much of the slush, snow, and ice without having to horse around a heavy snow-blower. I might consider buying a 3-point-hitch snow-blower for that tractor someday, though my little detached garage does not have room enough to accommodate that unless it was detached from the tractor and stored separately. I could fit it in the garage if I took the loader off, but the loader is pretty darned handy if I have to cut back snow-banks so we have improved visibility when trying to leave our driveway in winter.
 
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  • #317
Got another 8" today, and the night-time temperature are expected to plunge to -10 to -20 starting tomorrow night. The wood stove is going to get a workout. I just hope the temps stay below freezing tomorrow during the day so the snow stays light enough to be movable with the snow-blower.

I'm sick of winter, with over 2 more months of official winter to go, and the treacherous month of April following.
 
  • #318
Wind chill expected to hit -30F tonight near me.
 
  • #319
Greg Bernhardt said:
Wind chill expected to hit -30F tonight near me.
If we have wind with -20F, the chill will be off the charts. I grew up with that as a ski-patrolman during HS, but it's getting pretty old now that I have arthritis in major joints.
 
  • #320
It's 74o F (23o C) and sunny here at the moment.
 
  • #321
collinsmark said:
It's 74o F (23o C) and sunny here at the moment.
I hate you!
 
  • #322
turbo-1 said:
I hate you!
:-p :smile: :biggrin:
 
  • #323
collinsmark said:
It's 74o F (23o C) and sunny here at the moment.

turbo-1 said:
I hate you!

ditto
 
  • #324
It's about 17F here and the wind is kicking up. By Sun-Tues we will be lucky to creep up into the single digits for daily highs. There is an arctic blast coming.
 
  • #325
We're expecting more snow starting tomorrow night.
 
  • #326
We're down into single digits now. It might get up into the teens tomorrow as I try to get this latest dump of snow cleaned up, but that's the warmest it might be for the next several days, so I'll have to take advantage of it. After tomorrow, single-digit highs will be the best we can get.
 
  • #327
It's 14°F and falling like a rock. But compared to what turbo is going to be getting tonight, it would be like a heat wave.
 
  • #328
-29 today.
 
  • #329
It was about 4 F (-15 C) this morning around sunrise.

The low in the morning is supposed to be -10 F (-23 C).
 
  • #330
We are currently at -5 deg F and plunging. I thought the -20 forecast for tonight was a bit gloomy, but it seems to be coming true.
 
  • #331
A pic from a few weeks ago, to brighten the gloom. Little E's first snowman... her contribution, to pat each "ball" as it was getting rolled, and to help put on the "ha."

The cutest thing is that as our second, larger snowman melts (brother M was helping with that one, and we had more snow then), she's replaced its hat on the pile of snow, and when you ask where the snowman is, she points out the window.

snowman_crop_400px.JPG
 
  • #332
Looks like it might be the other half of the carrot for the nose, but are those grapes for the eyes?

Definately either a wafflo or a Ruffles for the chip, though. :) I'm thinking a wafflo, though, as it's bigger than a Ruffles.

Uh, for the uninitiated, a "wafflo" is a waffled potato. I used to cook in a restaurant, and we'd dump 'em bag fools in the fryer. Variation on a French Fry, but I thought they scooped up a lot more catsup than an average fry.
 
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  • #333
physics girl phd said:
snowman_crop_400px.JPG

Cute :smile:

But topology of hands is beyond my comprehension. Snowman sticks I understand.
 
  • #334
Cracker in one hand, carrot in the other. She eats like my niece - two-handed.

BTW, currently -5 F with strong winds - looks like gusts are about 30 mph or a bit more. I need to walk Duke sometime, but I'm going to wait until he "asks" hoping we get up closer to 0 or the winds calm a bit.
 
  • #335
I guess it's the number of hands that's confusing. Maybe she is decendant from Shiva :biggrin:

But so cute.

Sounds not good Turbo. Mind the windchill. I hope it works out.
 
  • #336
It was a crispy -4 F (-20 C) this morning at 0830 local time. The low this morning was about -11 F (-24 C) but the air was still.

What do folks do for mechanisms like electronic windows or locks that don't want to work? I had to roll down the door window, and I heard popping sounds. :rolleyes: The rear driver's side door didn't want to open. I guess I need to spray silicone on all the joints.
 
  • #337
Just got back from walking Duke. Still -2 F with howling winds. As soon as he got his business done, we headed right back home and got inside. I don't know if we'll hit zero today. :-(
 
  • #338
31C/15C (= 87F/59F)

its getting hot :(
 
  • #339
She's adorable physics girl! It seems like only yesterday that she was born!
 
  • #340
turbo-1 said:
Cracker in one hand, carrot in the other.
It's a balanced diet. Locally, weather.com is predicting one of two possible scenarios for tomorrow.
1. Way too much snow.
2. A lot more snow than we can stand.

According to them it all depends on the weather.
 
  • #341
We have hit our high temperature for the day, single digit-temp. Literally! It is currently one degree F. My father just called from his home about 15 miles north of here and he has 1 deg F, too. This cold air mass is remarkably consistent.

He has an old drafty house that isn't as well-insulated as it should be, and even though he's got half of it blocked off, his furnace hardly gets a break. Between the oil and the electricity needed to run the burner and circulating pump, this will be an expensive winter for him.
 
  • #342
5 - 10 inches of snow coming tonight and I just heard thunder several times. :rolleyes: Looks like it's going to be a strong storm.
 
  • #343
It has started coming down here. It is freezing rain or sleet or some such mix of ice and rain. It is sticking to my sidewalk like glue so I'll have a fun time tomorrow getting rid of it. The forecast is for 6 - 10" of snow.
 
  • #344
Jimmy Snyder said:
It has started coming down here. It is freezing rain or sleet or some such mix of ice and rain. It is sticking to my sidewalk like glue so I'll have a fun time tomorrow getting rid of it. The forecast is for 6 - 10" of snow.
Welcome to Maine, Jimmy.
 
  • #345
Got to love having to go to work on a snow day when even the governor has given state employees off and the state university is closed. Just because the governor hasn't declared a state of emergency doesn't make it any easier to drive through 10 inches of snow. If I'm an hour late, they can sue me, they aren't getting a vacation day from me. :mad:
 
  • #346
turbo-1 said:
Welcome to Maine, Jimmy.
I expect they'll organize a search party to find Maine now.
 
  • #347
Jimmy Snyder said:
I expect they'll organize a search party to find Maine now.

Or the majority party in the House will just conveniently redistrict it off the map and hope that Canada annexes it upon its return.
 
  • #348
http://newscoma.com/2010/01/28/calvin-and-hobbes-snowmen-just-in-time-for-icyhell-2010/
 
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