Coldest Seasonal Conditions starting Friday (Jan 23)
Dear all,Don't be fooled by the uptick in temperatures from Wednesday (today) to tomorrow. The entire region is facing a large income of cold air, starting on Friday Jan 23, dropping temperatures into the single digits over the weekend all the way to Wednesday (Jan 28). This is accompanied by snow and freezing rain, from Friday to Sunday.
The coldest predicted night in the ENTIRE SEASON is from MONDAY (Jan 26) to TUESDAY (Jan 27)
This is the time when in most areas floating Row-Covers are paramount to protect your strawberry crop.
The crowns of strawberries - if well adapted to low temperatures - are usually cold hardy to approximately 10F. Once your crowns are injured, you will NOT harvest a strawberry crop!
Given the latest up-and downs in temperatures, and weather in the 70s just two weeks ago, I would not bet my money on our plants being well adapted to temperatures even in the teens.
The predicted single digit temperatures are always lethal to strawberry plants, no matter which cultivar or how well adapted they are.For Most Regions in North Carolina, North of North Carolina & the Mountains
We recommend to use floating row covers to protect your strawberry crowns, if you haven't already, by latest on Friday. We expect snow over the weekend in many areas. While for some, the snow itself covering the plants might add to the plants protection, we don't recommend to rely on this alone. Use floating row covers before the snow, and the snow on your cover will help to keep plants insulated.
For Southern Regions:
Even for the direct coastal areas, to the Southern states that typically don't see cold temperatures, for example the Wilmington Area in NC, you will have to see whether or not you are in cold pockets. Most likely you still will have to protect.Minimum temperatures in the mid-high teen might already be cold enough to cause damage, since there is a possibility your plants are less adapted to colder conditions, compared to other areas.
This is especially true for the night from Monday (Jan 26) to Tuesday (Jan 27), predicting single digit temperatures for parts of South Carolina and Georgia, and low temperatures in the teens for coastal NC and parts of coastal SC.
General Weather Discussion:
*** Only Briefly Warmer Mid-Late Week *** Significant Winter Storm Event Becoming Likely This Weekend *** Freezing Rain Southern Areas To Snow Northern Areas *** Coldest This Season Possible Late Weekend / Early Next Week *** Changing, Volatile Weather Possible Late January / Early FebruaryThe cold weather experienced early this week will moderate some for the middle of this week, but it will be temporary.
The next surge of Arctic Air will begin to move into the Northern USA late this week, and slowly spread Southeast, while disturbances move Northeast spreading ample moisture Northeastward over the top of the cold surface temperatures.
This is evolving into a potential major winter weather event from the Southern Plains Northeast through the Tennessee Valley, Southern Appalachians, including much of the Carolinas and Southern Mid-Atlantic.
The type of precipitation will vary from freezing rain and a mixture on the Southern fringes affecting the Northern half or so of MS, AL, GA along with much of South Carolina and Southern North Carolina.
To the North of these areas it will likely be a snow event, with locally heavy totals of 6-12 inches if not locally more possible, centered from the Southern Appalachians to Northern Carolinas and Southern Mid-Atlantic.
Timing of this wintry storm will be very late Friday to early Sunday.
Along and behind this will be the coldest air so far this season, particularly where the ice and snow occurs over Northern areas where minimums into the single digits are possible, if not zero in some pockets.
This will be a critical period to determine the most effective means of protection with proper usage or not of row crop covers, pending degree of cold, condition and moisture/freezing of crop covers, and timing of placements.
Please consult crop specialists for best advice of management procedures to limit protection issues with this winter storm and cold temperatures.
Longer range outlooks are more unpredictable than usual as we close out January into February with increasing chances for changing weather ahead.
