Freeze stretch nearly done; thaw coming soon

Residents around Tampa greeted today what forecasters expect to be the last freezing morning in a prolonged invasion of Arctic air.

Temperatures hit freezing at Tampa International Airport and dropped into the high 20s in east Hillsborough County, creating yet another night for berry farmers to spray fields with water to protect crops.

Tampa Executive Airport (Vandenberg) fell to 25 degrees. Plant City Airport reached 30.

Even with temperatures around Tampa hovering near freezing, there is no wind chill advisory from the National Weather Service, so folks won't find their morning commute quite as frigid as past days.

About a dozen departures at Tampa International Airport were delayed as pilots waited for the sun to melt frost that formed on the aircraft parked overnight. The flights were set to leave between 6 and 7:30 a.m., airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said. Some delays were up to two hours, she said.

Rebecca Davis of St. Petersburg was on a delayed flight to New York City scheduled to depart at 6 a.m. but still on the ground after 7:30 a.m.

She said the pilot had positioned the aircraft to get the most sun.

Airlines do not have expensive de-icing equipment at Tampa International Airport, Geoghagan said.

This is the first time in the 25 years she has worked at the airport that morning flights were routinely delayed to let ice thaw from the aircraft, she said.

Temperatures along the Nature Coast dropped to a low of 19 in Brooksville.

The weather service says there still could be one more night below freezing from Pasco County north. Some parts of east Hillsborough may flirt with freezing tonight.

If forecasts hold true, Tampa may see 60 degrees this afternoon for the first time since New Year's Day, although it might take until about 2 p.m.

The lengthy stretch of cold weather, which goes back to the first of the year, set records in Tampa and St. Petersburg for consecutive days of not reaching 60 degrees for the high.

The old record in Tampa was seven days in January 1956. In St. Petersburg, the run broke a mark from December 1995.

Temperatures this morning did not fall as far as Monday, the coldest morning in the endless cold spell, when the freeze reached nearly the length of the state.

By the weekend, afternoon temperatures may be in the mid-70s, but the weather service said those warm temperatures could also come with rain, especially Saturday.