Warming trend to follow southeastern US freeze
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 4, 2021 10:21 AM EDT
On a calm, chilly morning in Atlanta on April 3, these calming sounds of nature were recorded.
Many residents of the Southeast woke up to frosty conditions or a freeze on Friday morning, one that AccuWeather meteorologists had warned may be damaging to vulnerable plants and crops already blossoming across the region.
Temperatures dipped into the upper teens and lower 20s over some of the mountain valleys of the southern Appalachians early Friday morning. A low of 19 was recorded in Jefferson, North Carolina, and 20 in Boone, North Carolina, on Friday.
Lows in the upper 20s to the middle 30s were more common outside of the mountains from Tennessee to southern Georgia and the coastal Carolinas Friday morning. Typically, the lowest temperatures of the night are registered near or shortly after sunrise. A slight breeze tended to keep cold air from collecting near the ground in some areas on Thursday night.
This image captured on Friday morning, April 2, 2021, shows a clear sky over the southeastern United States. Rows of bubbly cumulus clouds (white) can be seen over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean as cold air blew over warm waters and picked up moisture. (CIRA at Colorado State/GOES-East)
However, light winds, dry air and a clear sky allowed temperatures to plummet once agin Friday night and first thing Saturday morning, especially from the Appalachians to near the Atlantic coast in the Southern states. In many cases, temperatures were a few degrees lower Saturday morning, when compared to Friday morning.
A few record lows were surpassed on Saturday morning, but many remained intact both Friday and Saturday morning. However, record-temperatures are not needed to cause potential damage from a frost or freeze.
"March was warm, so budding, blossoming and leaf outs were ahead of schedule this year," AccuWeather Senior Agricultural Meteorologist Dale Mohler said.
Spring blooming occurred earlier than normal across a good portion of the Southeast, according to the National Phenology Network. Northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina and central and eastern Tennessee had particularly early blooms, occurring as much as 20 days earlier than normal.
"On one hand, commodities like soybeans, cotton and corn have not been planted yet where temperatures dropped below freezing," Mohler explained. "Fruit trees and berries may be another story, especially in areas from northeastern Georgia to upstate South Carolina and part of North Carolina, if these were left or are left unprotected."
This image shows freeze and frost alerts for the southeastern U.S. for late Friday night and early Saturday morning, April 3, 2021. (AccuWeather/National Weather Service)
Temperatures in the Piedmont areas of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina spent a few hours at or below freezing during both Friday morning and Saturday morning.
Mohler added that most tender annual vegetable crops have not yet been planted in areas that were hit with or are expected to be hit with freezing temperatures.
"Temperatures in southern Georgia and Florida, where vegetables have been planted are not expected to dip to the point of crop damage into this weekend," Mohler said.
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Virginia Adams, who runs a farm near Fayetteville, Georgia, south of Atlanta, has been using irrigation for years as a measure of protection for her crops from frosts and freezes.
"Water sprayed on the crops gives off heat as it freezes and that ice coats just about everything with a protective layer," Adams told AccuWeather National Reporter Kimberly Leoffler.
Agricultural interests were urged to cover or irrigate tender crops such as strawberries and fruit trees ahead of Saturday morning, especially from Virginia to the Carolinas and Georgia. Scattered frost is also possible in the normally colder spots of Virginia and the Carolinas late Saturday night to first thing Easter Sunday morning.
However, there is also plenty of good news for spring weather fans and those hoping for a stretch of dry and quiet weather in the Southern states.
Many locations across the South had a wet March with a multiple rounds of severe weather, including tornadoes in some communities, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
"The first week of April looks to be much quieter than the previous month in much of the region," Travis stated, "The exception to the dry conditions may be parts of southern Florida and coastal Louisiana where a moist flow of air could allow for some pop-up showers."
Nashville, Tennessee, is coming off its second wettest March on record with 12.28 inches. In less than 48 hours, 7.01 inches of rain fell on Nashville spanning March 27-28 alone. The rain sent the Cumberland River to its highest level in 10 years at Nashville and caused significant and deadly flooding along its banks in middle Tennessee.
The dry weather that began on Thursday in many areas may last close to a week in parts of the South.
A storm impacting the Northwest this weekend with low-elevation rain and mountain snow may bring needed downpours to wildfire-prone areas of the northern Plains early this week before pushing across the Mississippi Valley at midweek. The next chance of rain is Wednesday night in Nashville, but some areas farther to the south and east may not have rain in the offing until Thursday or Friday.
"Unfortunately, with the return of wet conditions could be the possibility of more severe weather," Travis said.
She noted that the storm expected to move southeastward across the country this week will tap into a flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico -- a necessary ingredient in the development of severe weather.
Prior to that storm, the extended stretch of rain-free weather for the South will come a gradual warming trend from this weekend through the middle of this week.
Most areas from the lower part of the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys to the southern Atlantic coast experienced below-average temperatures on Saturday. Temperatures will trend above average for Easter Sunday afternoon and remain elevated through the middle of the week.
For example, the average high in Atlanta is 69 in early April. Following a high in the middle 50s Friday and the lower 60s on Saturday, the city is forecast to reach 72 on Easter Sunday, the middle 70s on Monday and Tuesday then approach 80 on Wednesday.
Following highs in the 60s Friday and a high in the lower 70s on Saturday in Orlando, Florida, high temperatures will continue to trend upward through the 70s on Sunday and Monday and return to highs in the 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The normal high in Orlando this time of the year is 81.
Even in the southern Appalachians, a strong warming trend is in store this week. Following highs in the 50s on Friday and Saturday with a frosty start Easter Sunday morning, highs are forecast to be in the 70s from Sunday through Wednesday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Warming trend to follow southeastern US freeze
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 4, 2021 10:21 AM EDT
On a calm, chilly morning in Atlanta on April 3, these calming sounds of nature were recorded.
Many residents of the Southeast woke up to frosty conditions or a freeze on Friday morning, one that AccuWeather meteorologists had warned may be damaging to vulnerable plants and crops already blossoming across the region.
Temperatures dipped into the upper teens and lower 20s over some of the mountain valleys of the southern Appalachians early Friday morning. A low of 19 was recorded in Jefferson, North Carolina, and 20 in Boone, North Carolina, on Friday.
Lows in the upper 20s to the middle 30s were more common outside of the mountains from Tennessee to southern Georgia and the coastal Carolinas Friday morning. Typically, the lowest temperatures of the night are registered near or shortly after sunrise. A slight breeze tended to keep cold air from collecting near the ground in some areas on Thursday night.
This image captured on Friday morning, April 2, 2021, shows a clear sky over the southeastern United States. Rows of bubbly cumulus clouds (white) can be seen over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean as cold air blew over warm waters and picked up moisture. (CIRA at Colorado State/GOES-East)
However, light winds, dry air and a clear sky allowed temperatures to plummet once agin Friday night and first thing Saturday morning, especially from the Appalachians to near the Atlantic coast in the Southern states. In many cases, temperatures were a few degrees lower Saturday morning, when compared to Friday morning.
A few record lows were surpassed on Saturday morning, but many remained intact both Friday and Saturday morning. However, record-temperatures are not needed to cause potential damage from a frost or freeze.
"March was warm, so budding, blossoming and leaf outs were ahead of schedule this year," AccuWeather Senior Agricultural Meteorologist Dale Mohler said.
Spring blooming occurred earlier than normal across a good portion of the Southeast, according to the National Phenology Network. Northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina and central and eastern Tennessee had particularly early blooms, occurring as much as 20 days earlier than normal.
"On one hand, commodities like soybeans, cotton and corn have not been planted yet where temperatures dropped below freezing," Mohler explained. "Fruit trees and berries may be another story, especially in areas from northeastern Georgia to upstate South Carolina and part of North Carolina, if these were left or are left unprotected."
This image shows freeze and frost alerts for the southeastern U.S. for late Friday night and early Saturday morning, April 3, 2021. (AccuWeather/National Weather Service)
Temperatures in the Piedmont areas of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina spent a few hours at or below freezing during both Friday morning and Saturday morning.
Mohler added that most tender annual vegetable crops have not yet been planted in areas that were hit with or are expected to be hit with freezing temperatures.
"Temperatures in southern Georgia and Florida, where vegetables have been planted are not expected to dip to the point of crop damage into this weekend," Mohler said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Virginia Adams, who runs a farm near Fayetteville, Georgia, south of Atlanta, has been using irrigation for years as a measure of protection for her crops from frosts and freezes.
"Water sprayed on the crops gives off heat as it freezes and that ice coats just about everything with a protective layer," Adams told AccuWeather National Reporter Kimberly Leoffler.
Agricultural interests were urged to cover or irrigate tender crops such as strawberries and fruit trees ahead of Saturday morning, especially from Virginia to the Carolinas and Georgia. Scattered frost is also possible in the normally colder spots of Virginia and the Carolinas late Saturday night to first thing Easter Sunday morning.
However, there is also plenty of good news for spring weather fans and those hoping for a stretch of dry and quiet weather in the Southern states.
Many locations across the South had a wet March with a multiple rounds of severe weather, including tornadoes in some communities, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
"The first week of April looks to be much quieter than the previous month in much of the region," Travis stated, "The exception to the dry conditions may be parts of southern Florida and coastal Louisiana where a moist flow of air could allow for some pop-up showers."
Nashville, Tennessee, is coming off its second wettest March on record with 12.28 inches. In less than 48 hours, 7.01 inches of rain fell on Nashville spanning March 27-28 alone. The rain sent the Cumberland River to its highest level in 10 years at Nashville and caused significant and deadly flooding along its banks in middle Tennessee.
The dry weather that began on Thursday in many areas may last close to a week in parts of the South.
A storm impacting the Northwest this weekend with low-elevation rain and mountain snow may bring needed downpours to wildfire-prone areas of the northern Plains early this week before pushing across the Mississippi Valley at midweek. The next chance of rain is Wednesday night in Nashville, but some areas farther to the south and east may not have rain in the offing until Thursday or Friday.
"Unfortunately, with the return of wet conditions could be the possibility of more severe weather," Travis said.
She noted that the storm expected to move southeastward across the country this week will tap into a flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico -- a necessary ingredient in the development of severe weather.
Prior to that storm, the extended stretch of rain-free weather for the South will come a gradual warming trend from this weekend through the middle of this week.
Most areas from the lower part of the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys to the southern Atlantic coast experienced below-average temperatures on Saturday. Temperatures will trend above average for Easter Sunday afternoon and remain elevated through the middle of the week.
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For example, the average high in Atlanta is 69 in early April. Following a high in the middle 50s Friday and the lower 60s on Saturday, the city is forecast to reach 72 on Easter Sunday, the middle 70s on Monday and Tuesday then approach 80 on Wednesday.
Following highs in the 60s Friday and a high in the lower 70s on Saturday in Orlando, Florida, high temperatures will continue to trend upward through the 70s on Sunday and Monday and return to highs in the 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The normal high in Orlando this time of the year is 81.
Even in the southern Appalachians, a strong warming trend is in store this week. Following highs in the 50s on Friday and Saturday with a frosty start Easter Sunday morning, highs are forecast to be in the 70s from Sunday through Wednesday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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