Farmers checking plants after overnight cold blast
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Farmers in the Northeast are checking their orchards and vineyards for damage after a blast of cold air dropped temperatures overnight into the low 20s and even the teens in some places.
The main concern is tender buds and shoots on plants coming alive weeks early because of the recent record warmth.
Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, says Tuesday much of the damage won't be clear until Wednesday, though peaches, apricots, plums and cherries were likely hit hard. He says the key is how long the coldest temperatures lasted. Among the lows reported by the National Weather Service were 21 in Elmira; 20 in Syracuse; 23 in Albany; 21 in Bennington, Vt.; 20 in Pittsfield, Mass.; 26 in Danbury, Conn.; and 23 in Keene, N.H.
