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Growers To Brace For Possible Freeze Thursday

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2008

TAMPA -- A slug of cold air behind the front bringing today's storms could cause a late season freeze over much of Hillsborough County and drop temperatures to freezing or below north of Hillsborough on Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service is forecasting 32 degrees for eastern Hillsborough and low to middle 30s for Tampa.

Eastern Pasco could see temperatures down to 30 degrees while the forecast for Hernando County calls for 27.

Forecasters say the temperatures should hit 32 degrees in eastern Hillsborough about 6 a.m. and stay there roughly an hour before rising to near 40 around 8 a.m.

The wind chill is expected to be about 29 degrees.

In Hernando County, the temperature should drop to freezing about 5 a.m. and stay below freezing until sometime after 7 a.m. There will be less wind in Hernando than Hillsborough, allowing the temperatures to fall.

Even with the light wind, the weather will have a bite with a wind chill of about 25 degrees.

And Wednesday should be a chilly one even before nightfall with temperatures struggling to reach 60 in Tampa.

If the temperature does fall to freezing in Tampa, it would be only the sixth time since 1890 that a freeze struck Feb. 28 or later.

The latest freeze recorded in Tampa was on March 5, 1893, when it was 32 degrees.

The forecast for a freeze comes at a bad time for strawberry growers, said Allen Williford, president of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.

Plants are in heavy bloom, heavy with ripe fruit and have a good number of green fruit yet to ripen.

"Most everybody's crop is on the plant in one form or another," he said.

The blooms are especially vulnerable to freezing temperatures, as are the unripe fruit.

Added to that is the strong squall line ahead of Wednesday's cold weather. A hard rain can severely damage ripe berries.

"It beats up strawberries. I hate to see a heavy squall line. A heavy rain can take a third of your red fruit," Williford said.

If the forecast holds, growers will stay awake Wednesday night to turn on sprinklers if the temperature hits 32.

"With a forecast of 32, I'll be up and so will everyone else," Williford said.

The freeze threat also could be bad for some homeowners' plants, especially ones sprouting new growth.

But there are several factors working in favor of plant owners, said Pam Brown, urban horticulture extension agent with the University of Florida.

The anticipated rain would mean moist soil that can help keep plants from drying out in the cold, dry air. And the days of high temperatures mean the ground is warm, which should help, Brown said.

Homeowners should move tender, potted plants under cover and if possible cover outdoor plants that are showing new growth.

It should also benefit plant owners that freezing temperatures in Hillsborough aren't expected to last long, she said.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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