Mike Sparks, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, issued the following report on Thursday, Jan. 5:
“For the second night in a row, the industry got hit with cold weather. Although by no means catastrophic, we have received reports of slush ice and twig and leaf damage. Of course we will not know the full extent of the damage for the next several days; however, I do expect at least a moderate impact.
“Last night it got a little colder than we originally expected particularly in low-lying areas off the Ridge and in the Northern region where temperatures reached the mid to low 20s. The Gulf region also had reports in the 20s as well. Fortunately, the durations were not more than a couple hours in most cases. The River seems to have come through in the best shape with reports in the mid to low 30s.
“On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning we had little to no frost however last night we had heavy frost and little wind which produced colder temps than forecast. Growers were able to run water and this helped raise temperatures and protect trees. Irrigation worked very well.”