Not only Chicago and the Midwest are being affected by the current April cold snap. Snow and record breaking cold cover much of the South and Southeast. Our colleague Richard Koeneman sent along this picture from his home near Asheville, North Carolina depicting the beauty of today's late-season 4.7" snowfall. However, beyond the beauty of the snow lies the reality of killed or damaged vegetation and lost crops.
Richard tells us that temperatures records in the Southeast are not just being broken by a degree or two, but they are being shattered by as much as 5-10ยบ. ... the fruit crop (apples, pears, cherries, etc) and early vegetable crop is being heavily damaged from Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia across Tennessee and the Carolinas north into Pennsylvania. The local apple growers in the Asheville area are saying the crop is already 80-100% gone, and the lowest temperatures are not expected until tonight. " [Saturday night/Sunday morning]
There were lots of daytime 70s and nighttime 50s during the last 2-3 weeks in Asheville and highs in the 80s farther south including plenty of record high max temps and record high min temps as well .. and the fruit trees were all blooming. Now, the whole area is experiencing lows in the 20s and teens for 2-3 nights. According to a TV report, an apple grower whose family has been in the business near Asheville since 1910 said they have never lost more than 70% of their apple crop to spring freezes, but he estimates his loss now is already "near 100%", with colder temps still to come. The cold is making big news down here.
Steve Kahn WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune Meteorologist
Photo Courtesy: Richard Koeneman
