Photo of blossoms on a Pennsylvania apple tree, taken April 22 by Steve Guttman. An early, warm spring followed by many unseasonally cold nights has made this a challenging season for apple and other fruit growers across the Northeast. Photo published under Creative Commons license.
If you've still got tender plants that have managed to survive this spring's wild mood swings, you'll want to cover them up tonight. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for south-central New York, including Delaware and Sullivan County:
Freeze Warning Remains In Effect From 11 PM This Evening To 9 AM EDT Saturday... * Locations...Northeast Pennsylvania And Central New York * Temperatures...In The Mid 20S. * Impacts...Any Sensitive Vegetation Will Be Vulnerable To Damage With Below Freezing Temperatures.
Tonight's cold snap may be the worst one yet for Northeastern fruit farmers, the AP reports:
Some farmers said the forecast for Friday night posed the biggest threat yet for crop damage. The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for parts of several New England states, much of New York and Pennsylvania and sections of Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Forecasters urged measures to protect tender vegetation.
"This is by far going to be the scariest night of the year," said Rick Macsuga, a marketing representative for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. "There are going to be a lot farmers up late or all night tonight."
