NWS Met on Florida Cold: “This is the longest stretch ever in 100 years of record keeping.”

From the “weather is not climate department” and  the High Springs Florida Herald, a story of record length of subfreezing cold in Florida.

Excerpts:

Assessing the full damage to many crops will not be known for several weeks.

Branford/Fort White area fish farmer Dave Walen farms native fish that will not die as a result of the cold, but his business is still being affected by the cold.

That’s because the fish have settled deep in the lime rock pit he uses to farm the fish, and he cannot reach them. He doesn’t know when they will decide to swim close enough to the surface to catch.

“We have orders for fish that we can’t fulfill – orders since before Christmas,” Walen said. “The cold stops everything.”

As of Wednesday, Jan. 13, the area has experienced 12 consecutive days of below freezing temperatures — a new record.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Jason Hess said that it’s the length of the cold that is most significant.

“This is the longest stretch ever in 100 years of record keeping.”

A new daily record low temperature was set Sunday, Jan. 11, in the Crescent Communities, with the area reaching 17 degrees.

Since the beginning of January, temperatures have remained more than 20 degrees below normal. Temperatures normally should be up in the 60s during the day and the 40s at night, Hess said.

Recently, the highs have been in the 40s and the lows in the 20s.

Full story here

The NWS Public Information Statement from WSFO Jacksonville:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL

815 AM EST THU JAN 14 2010

...RECORD BREAKING COLD SPELL SLOWLY COMES TO AN END...

AS OF TODAY...THURSDAY JANUARY 14TH...THERE HAVE BEEN 13 CONSECUTIVE

DAYS WITH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 32 DEGREES AT

ALMA GEORGIA AND GAINESVILLE FLORIDA AND 12 DAYS AT SAINT SIMONS

ISLAND GEORGIA WITH THE STREAKS STILL IN TACT.

THIS SETS NEW RECORDS AT GAINESVILLE FLORIDA AS WELL AS ST SIMONS

ISLAND AND ALMA GEORGIA FOR CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH MINIMUM

TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING. THEY ARE NOW LISTED AT THE BOTTOM

OF THE PRODUCT.

THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE AT JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA LAST FRIDAY ONLY

REACHED 34 DEGREES...ENDING THEIR STREAK OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS AT 32

OR BELOW AT 6. ALTHOUGH THE RECORD OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF 32 OR

BELOW WAS NOT MET AT JACKSONVILLE...A NEW RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE

DAYS OF 34 DEGREES OR BELOW CONTINUES...AND NOW STANDS AT 13 DAYS

FROM JANUARY 2ND THROUGH THE 14TH. THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 9

CONSECUTIVE DAYS WERE SET IN JANUARY 2001 AND JANUARY 1977.

THE MOST RECENT EVENT WITH SUCH LONG LASTING COLD TEMPERATURES WAS

IN THE WINTER OF 2000-2001 WHEN A WEEK LONG PERIOD OF SUB-FREEZING

TEMPERATURES WAS SEEN FROM LATE DECEMBER INTO EARLY JANUARY.

WITH THE ARCTIC AIRMASS MODIFYING OVER THE REGION...TONIGHT WILL SEE

MINIMUM TEMPERATURES IN THE MIDDLE 30S TO MIDDLE 40S ACROSS MOST OF

THE REGION...ALTHOUGH A FEW COLDER LOCATIONS ACROSS INLAND SOUTHEAST

GEORGIA MAY FALL TO NEAR FREEZING.

THE RECORDS FOR CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH 32 DEGREES OR LESS AT LOCAL

CLIMATE SITES ARE LISTED BELOW...

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA...8 DAYS...JANUARY 17-24, 1977

OLD...GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA...9 DAYS...DECEMBER 16-24, 1960

NEW...GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA...13 DAYS...JANUARY 2-14, 2010

OLD...ALMA, GEORGIA...11 DAYS...DECEMBER 16-26, 1960

NEW...ALMA, GEORGIA...13 DAYS...JANUARY 2-14, 2010

OLD...ST SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA...8 DAYS...DEC 29 TO JAN 5, 2001

NEW...ST SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA...12 DAYS...JAN 3-14, 2010

$$

HESS/DEESE

And something equally unique, freezing fog in Florida as reported by NWS Jacksonville:

Freezing Fog Event:  January 14, 2010

Angie Enyedi, NWS Jacksonville

An unusual freezing fog event happened this morning across portions of the Jacksonville County Warning Area (CWA).  Freezing fog is defined as a suspension of numerous minute ice crystals in the air, or water droplets at temperatures below 0 ° C, based at the Earth’s surface, which reduces horizontal visibility.  Freezing fog is also called ice fog.

This morning a ridge of high pressure was centered over coastal South Carolina and coastal Southeast Georgia. A light and shallow northeast flow filtered over much of the Jacksonville CWA around this ridge.  The moist and stable layer extended to about 400 feet above ground level (Figure 1, 12Z KJAX Sounding), then the airmass was significantly drier however strong subsidence remained in place.

Click image to enlarge

Temperatures fell below freezing around midnight at the Jacksonville International Airport (JIA). The ambient temperature was around 32 ° F and dew point 31 ° F. Through 8 am local time (about 9 hours), the temperature at JIA remained below freezing with dew point depressions of only 1 ° F.  Calm winds and passing thin cirrus allowed almost ideal radiational cooling conditions to much of the CWA.

Freezing fog was reported from Alma, Georgia to Gainesville, Florida. Much of the observations were reported across northwest Duval County where moderate moisture advection combined with cold temperatures (Figure 2, MSAS surface analysis).

Click image to enlarge

Sometimes freezing fog can settle on surfaces and create ice patches.  A special weather statement was issued early this morning to alert motorists of this potential hazard.