This is about as deep as a blast will get. The odd thing about it is that the air up north isn't really all that cold. Yes it is cold but it could easily be 10 to 20 degrees colder. This is the kind of weather that Florida would get in the early to mid 80's. I lived down there for what was called Florida's little ice age. It was a series of winters that devastated the Florida citrus crop. While this system isn't bad enough to cause the kind of damaged experience in 1983, 1985 and 1989 it is certainly a harsh reminder of what nature can deliver.

Just remember it could have been worse.

My parents back in 1981 or 1982 looked at buying a small orange grove in Brevard County, Florida. Fortunately they passed on it. Of course you reference 1983 which was just catastrophic for the citrus industry. They took a beating again two years later in 1985 and four years later in 1989. I'm amazed anyone even tried to recover from that. The freezes those three years wiped out pretty much everything north of Lake Okeechobee.

Tanked all the way down to 24 degrees here.....currently 30. Pretty cold for Texas.

wunderground says 29 here tonite --- SW FL

Given it'll be around 40 tonight here, in Seattle, that's freaking cold for SW Florida. It was 50 degrees yesterday!

that's freaking cold for SW Florida
TELL me about it !

And we can plan on spending $3 per lb on oranges next year

I don't think this cold is big enough to negatively impact citrus prices. Morning lows in central Florida won't be below freezing long enough.

You're probably right, still, unusual cold can't be good for a lot of the crops in this country. I feel we should spend more money diversifying our foods, and preparing to grow alternate crops rather than studying Kangaroo farts. I think a smart nation could change course if needed be, within a couple years, if they were prepared for it, like stocking a variety of grains and seeds for both colder, warmer as well as dryer, and wetter climates. I'm no expert, but I can't see how all this wasted money on research and propaganda based on CO2 induced warming could be being better used to actually prepare for eventual change.

The citrus growers are already trying to combat the cold.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080102/D8TTFLQ81.html

I had a family member that used to live in Crestview, Florida years ago. I believe they first built their home there in the 1960's. When the home was built it didn't have heat or a fireplace. How things have changed.

At 5:53pm this evening Crestview already hit the freezing mark. They will likely spend 16 hours at or below freezing. This follows a daytime high of 39 degrees. The low for tonight is forecast to be between 14 and 18 degrees. Tomorrow night will be a balmy low 20's.

it was 28 here this morning !

Seeings how most of our food comes from Florida this time of year, I'm a bit worried about food prices.

already taking a beating from continued high gas prices, which affect EVERY part of the U.S. economy...

got cash ?

I think we could weather a lot of the problems if it weren't for oil/gas compounding the issue.

yeah, the gas thing has got us by the balls.