Farmers brace for worst, shelters open as brutal cold descends on South Florida

Victoria Villanueva-Marquez, Palm Beach Post
·4 min read

WEST PALM BEACH — The coldest air of the season was bearing down Saturday on South Florida, with freeze and wind chill warnings in place as temperatures prepared to plummet to an un-Florida-like low 30s.

"It's a quite breezy Arctic mass," said John Pendergrast, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne. "In general, the last several years, we haven't had any outbreaks comparable to this."

Palm Beach County prepared Saturday to open cold-weather shelters as the temperatures promised to head below 35 degrees. The Therapeutic Recreation Center in Lake Worth Beach and the Belle Glade Intake Center planned to open their cold-weather shelters Saturday night.

Cold-weather shelters also opened on the Treasure Coast, where possible record readings were expected overnight from the cold.

A woman keeps herself and dog warm during ceremonies at the start of the Susan G. Komen 2022 West Palm Beach MORE THAN PINK Walk Saturday, January 29, 2022. The organization describes the event as a time to share stories, laughter, and tears, as well as to raise money that saves lives, while celebrating survivors, those living with breast cancer, and lost loved ones.

It's going to be freezing this weekend — literally: Rare freeze outlook issued for South Florida with cold front this weekend

Freeze warning? Wind chill? What you need to know about weather terms not usually heard in Florida

The frigid air, which began rolling into the county overnight Friday, provided a crisp start to the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk on the Intracoastal waterfront in downtown West Palm Beach on Saturday morning. Hundreds of people were bundled up against the cold as spectators and walkers took part in the breast cancer charity event.

Brenda Mondesir, 40, of West Palm Beach, walked in support of her sister Danette Volmy, who is two years younger and was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She also walked in honor of her friend, Shakela Montgomery, who died of the disease on Thanksgiving at 40.

“As a woman, you never know when it’s going to be your turn,” she said. “It’s beautiful watching my sister and my friend have the support that they do. I tend to always think about the people that suffer in silence with no support. It’s important to come out, regardless of the weather. There’s still something that needs to be done.”

Temperatures this morning are forecast to range from 32 degrees or below across inland portions of South Florida with the mid- to upper-30s to near 40 at the coast.

Brutal wind chill temperatures in the 20s near Lake Okeechobee and 30s near the coast are also possible.

People are bundled up against the cold and Covid during ceremonies before the Susan G. Komen 2022 West Palm Beach MORE THAN PINK Walk Saturday, January 29, 2022. The organization describes the event as a time to share stories, laughter, and tears, as well as to raise money that saves lives, while celebrating survivors, those living with breast cancer, and lost loved ones.

A hard freeze, meaning temperatures of 28 degrees for two hours or more, was predicted for Glades County.

An area of low pressure forecast to spin up off the coast of the Carolinas and deepen as it moves northeast will help tug the frigid air all the way to Cuba, with Key West dipping to a potential 50 degrees early Sunday, the coldest temperature there in at least seven years.

Florida cold weather: How to protect pets, what to avoid amid freezing temps, wind chill

What a freeze watch means for your plants: How to protect plants in Florida from cold weather and what to avoid using for plant covers

'It could totally wipe us out': Farmers brace their crops for cold weather

In the county’s Glades region, farmers were preparing for a tough couple days.

In Belle Glade, John "Buddy" McKinstry, founder and owner of JEM Farms, filled his sweet corn fields with water to save them from the freeze. About 45 minutes north in Indiantown, he covered his bell peppers with cloth and watermelon with hay and dirt.

"I don't know what's gonna work or what ain't," McKinstry said. "We usually fly a helicopter, but with the wind blowing the helicopter won't do much good tonight. I don't know about Sunday night because the wind is supposed to lay down."

As growers prepared for the brutal wind chill temperatures, some lined up helicopters to soar over the Glades to push warmer air closer to the crops. McKinstry said he worried the damage could be severe.

"It could totally wipe us out," he said. "I'm more concerned about this one than any of the other ones we've had in a long time."

Workers cover copperleaf plants to protect them from the cold temperatures at Garden Industries in Loxahatchee, Florida on January 28, 2022.
Workers cover copperleaf plants to protect them from the cold temperatures at Garden Industries in Loxahatchee, Florida on January 28, 2022.

With their crops at stake, growers gathered strength for a long night ahead.

"If you're a corn grower or a bean grower, you'll definitely have a story to tell," said Keith Wedgworth, president of the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau. "They won't go to bed tonight. They'll be out there gauging the temperature all night and debating whether to send the helicopters up if the temperature gets too low."

Meanwhile, the wintry weather hammering the Northeast, where 2 feet of snow was predicted for parts of New England, was affecting air travel Saturday. By late afternoon, 77 flights had been canceled and five delayed at Palm Beach International Airport, according to data from Flight Aware, a flight tracking service.

vvillanueva@pbpost.com

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida weather: Bitter cold descends on Palm Beach County