Although we will have abundant sunshine today, it is cold cold cold. This is no great news, as it is cold everywhere east of the Mississippi. The relative humidity is 81%. The dew point is 36F and the Barometer is 30.10 and raising. Our High today will only hit 64F and our Low tonight is 31F. Our sunrise came this morning at 6:59AM and will set tonight at 5:29PM. Winds are North/Northwest at 10 to 20 mph. The chance of rain is 0%.

The big news here in South Central Florida in general, and Palmdale in particular is the cold air mass moving in from the north. We will see severe crop damage from this one. Field crops that have been recently planted will certainly be burned. They are picking like crazy to get what is up (tomatoes mostly) in. There is citrus that needs picking, and some immature fruit that is still setting. Damages are predicted to be in the $ millions. Here is what the Ag Agent has to say:

A strong cold front will move into the region late today, ushering in cold air for most of this week. Late tonight and early Monday will certainly be much colder and blustery, but low temperatures will not yet be cold enough to support low wind chills. The center of the Arctic air mass will make steady progress southward on Monday, with highs mainly in the low and mid 60s. This sets up the first of two potential freezing nights.

Monday night/Tuesday AM:
Wind chills below critical values ALL areas as winds will remain NNW 5-10 mph overnight, except NNW 10-15 mph near both coasts.

Low temperatures expected for the following areas:

Glades/Hendry: 27-30. Three or more hours at or below freezing possible.
Western/Inland Palm Beach and Inland Collier: Near freezing 30-33 (Lake shadow will play a big role in Belle Glade/Pahokee areas).

We will continue to cover up our plants today. I detest this type of weather. It is so damaging.

We continued work on glass today. Todd and Nancy came by after noon to visit for a bit. They brought along little Gavin. He got his load of bananas. Nancy wanted to see the coop set-up and check out the 'green house' over the raised beds. It was a very pleasant visit. Todd returned one book on raised bed gardening, and I sent him off with three Mother Earth News mags from the 70's-80's.

We continued working on glass until about 4PM at which time we started covering up some of the many, many plants that are cold sensitive. The weather man (during the noon boradcast) stated this is the coldest December 6th since 1937. He also specifically mentioned 'Palmdale" as being the coldest part of the state! On top of all of this, he said next week will be worst than this week! Distressing.

I began notifying folks about the BRW Memorial Scholarship Fund 2011calendars. I have orders for six so far. I have only ordered 15, so I have almost filled my first printing.

Well, as soon as the wind lays down, I will finish up covering the remaining plants. Until, I will sit in the warm, and foil.