Low temps this morning in 30s and 40s, crop damage expected
The low temperature this morning at Palm Beach International Airport dipped to 41 degrees, but 30s were measured in western areas of Palm Beach County, and temperatures in Glades and Hendry counties bottomed out near freezing.
While National Weather Service meteorologists had expected slightly cooler temperatures in coastal areas of the county this morning, the 41 degrees measured at the airport is still 16 degrees below normal for this time of year.
Related: Iguanas cold stunned, but probably not dead.
Today’s forecast high of 62 degrees in West Palm Beach is 13 degrees below normal.
Freeze warnings west of U.S. 441 remained in effect until 9 a.m. as is a wind chill advisory for coastal Palm Beach County.
Jeff Gammons, a storm chaser and photographer in Okeechobee County, captured the image below of frost on his car this morning.
Frost in Okeechobee County, courtesy Jeff Gammons of Storm Visuals.
Low temperatures in Palm Beach County are in the report below. To read this report, “3 SE Belle Glade ” is three miles southeast of Belle Glade.
3 SE Belle Glade 34 F 0700 AM 01/05 14 SSE South Bay 34 F 0700 AM 01/05 2 ESE Belle Glade 35 F 0745 AM 01/05 1 S Juno Beach 37 F 0700 AM 01/05 2 SSE Lake Worth 38 F 0718 AM 01/05 3 NW Haverhill 38 F 0717 AM 01/05 Juno Beach 38 F 0721 AM 01/05 1 S Jupiter 38 F 0800 AM 01/05 15 W Boca Raton Equestrian 38 F 0732 AM 01/05 2 S Juno Beach 38 F 0745 AM 01/05 3 WNW Sandalfoot Cove 39 F 0735 AM 01/05 3 SSE Aberdeen Golf Course 39 F 0718 AM 01/05 1 W Ocean Ridge 39 F 0736 AM 01/05 4 WNW The Acreage 39 F 0758 AM 01/05 Delray Beach 39 F 0745 AM 01/05 2 ESE Boca Raton Equestrian 39 F 0750 AM 01/05 1 E Boynton Beach 39 F 0740 AM 01/05 1 N Greenacres City 39 F 0708 AM 01/05 3 NNE Boynton Beach 40 F 0721 AM 01/05 Juno Beach 40 F 0749 AM 01/05 Jupiter 40 F 0819 AM 01/05 2 WNW Delray Beach 40 F 0748 AM 01/05 2 NW West Palm Beach 40 F 0743 AM 01/05 2 E Royal Palm Beach 40 F 0725 AM 01/05 1 ENE Haverhill 40 F 0734 AM 01/05 2 NNE Lake Worth 40 F 0733 AM 01/05 2 NE Palm Springs 40 F 0700 AM 01/05 2 SSW Ocean Ridge 40 F 0700 AM 01/05 1 SSE Riviera Beach 40 F 0734 AM 01/05 1 WNW Boca West 41 F 0735 AM 01/05 Boynton Beach 41 F 0739 AM 01/05 2 WSW Delray Beach 41 F 0740 AM 01/05 2 ENE Lake Worth 41 F 0717 AM 01/05 2 NNW Boca Raton 41 F 0748 AM 01/05 4 NNW Boca Raton Equestrian 41 F 0730 AM 01/05 Ilnternational Airport 41 F 0753 AM 01/05 1 NE Boca Raton 41 F 0743 AM 01/05 2 WNW Sandalfoot Cove 42 F 0743 AM 01/05 Boca Raton Airport 50 F 1047 PM 01/04
In western Palm Beach County, farmers looked to fly helicopters over crops Thursday night into this morning hoping to mitigate cold damage, but it’s unclear if that happened.
On nights with little wind, helicopters help mix the dense cold air at the surface with warmer air above.
Keith Wedgworth, president of the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau and vice president of Wedgworth Farms, Belle Glade, said Thursday some parts of the Everglades Agricultural Area had temperatures as low as 30 to 31 Wednesday night into Thursday.
Early reports indicate that some sweet corn and green bean crops were lost.
Related: “I want my warm weather back. I shouldn’t be subjected to this.”
For tonight, the National Weather Service in Miami is warning of another cool evening with temperatures below 50 and even in the 30s in western areas of Palm Beach County.
A high risk of rip currents will continue along the Atlantic beaches through much of the weekend as winds turn more northeasterly.
Forecast details for the night of Friday, Jan. 5, 2018
Freeze warning issued for Palm Beach County 
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