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Weather

Crops survive during cold snap

Citrus, tomatoes and strawberries come through sub-freezing weather with little trouble.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published January 25, 2005

The elements were harder on humans than their leafy neighbors.

A temperature dip Sunday night and Monday morning sent residents racing for winter coats and the homeless flocking into shelters. But citrus, tomatoes and budding strawberries - critical Florida agriculture - were relatively unscathed.

"Even though we did have a hard freeze last night, it appears our people did a pretty reasonable job of plant protection," said Chip Hinton, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association in Plant City.

Hinton said Monday that he had heard no reports of serious damage to crops.

When temperatures plummet, farmers spray water on their plants to protect them, hoping for low wind conditions so they can apply an even blanket. Heat is released when water freezes, protecting plants and fruit.

Sunday night, winds were light. Hinton said that helped keep temperatures higher.

Citrus also did well, said Casey Pace, spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest citrus grower trade organization. "The growers go out and cut open a few pieces of fruit to look for ice. There was no ice inside and no damage."

Tomatoes were off the hook too, said Victor Uribe, packing house manager at Pacific Tomato Growers in Wimauma. "The farms are farther south," he said, in Immokalee, where temperatures were in the upper 30s.

The National Weather Service in Ruskin recorded a low of 31 degrees at Tampa International Airport between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Monday, said meteorologist Barry Goldsmith. East of Tampa, near Brandon, temperatures dropped into the upper 20s, he said.

Temperatures will start today in the 30s, but the mercury will quickly rise, reaching the lower to mid 60s during the day, Goldsmith said. Wednesday's temperatures should start out in the 40s but then climb to the lower 70s by the afternoon, he said.

Temperatures will stay about the same for the rest of the week, though the weather might turn cloudy with a chance of light rain.

Some are taking the weather one day at a time.

Steve Vick, general manager at the Salvation Army on Florida Avenue in Tampa, said he was expecting another packed house Monday night and Tuesday morning. About 160 people took shelter Sunday night at the center with six dozen or more at the overflow shelter in Hyde Park.

The cold-weather shelter at Solid Rock Christian Church in Lealman was operating at capacity Sunday night, said Bruce Wright, director of refuge ministries. Its 50 beds for the homeless were full. They had to turn some people away.

The nearby Turning Point shelter also was filled to capacity, with all 56 beds filled. Program manager Lonia Desanto said a line formed an hour before doors opened.

Laura Cruz at Good Samaritan Mission in Balm said blankets are needed for the farmworkers who live in trailers without heat and with no transportation to get to shelters. To help, call (813) 672-5330 or (813) 541-6854.

While many fought to get indoors, others were forced to be outside.

Gator Gypsum worker Joel Rentas hauls Sheetrock to construction sites. Monday was his coldest day on the job yet.

"It slows me down, and I don't want to be out here working," he said.

Robert Bianco sported a knit cap Monday as he ran his father's hot dog stand at Fourth Street and First Avenue N in St. Petersburg. His customers reached for their hot dogs bundled in winter gear.

Others took a pass. Bianco said he started working the stand at 9:30 a.m. The cold, he said, was taking a bite out of his business.

"It was nippy out here," he said. "It's definitely slower than usual."

--Staff writers Lauren Bayne Anderson and William R. Levesque contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 25, 2005, 06:18:12]