South Freezes; Fla. Citrus Crop Spared : Cold Weather Ties or Sets Records in Three States

Dixie shivered today as temperatures plunged across the South, straining the resources of city shelters for the homeless but sparing Florida farmers a freeze damaging to their citrus crops.

The cold tied or set low-temperature records in South Carolina, Mississippi and Florida. The National Weather Service predicted a warming trend throughout the region today, however.

This was welcome news for Florida citrus farmers, who had feared another freeze similar to the one last January that destroyed more than 200,000 acres of citrus.

“It was very borderline and a little bit scary,” said Ernie Neff, spokesman for Florida Citrus Mutual. But he said he is not aware of any crop damage.

“The temperatures got into the mid or high 20s but not for any long enough duration to do us any crop damage. There was no tree damage either.”

Temperatures must remain at 28 degrees or lower for four hours or more for there to be extensive damage to fruit, officials said. Forecasters predicted another drop to 28 degrees or lower in the Citrus Belt between midnight and 2 a.m. Friday.

A ‘Bit More Beneficial’

“If anything, it (the cold) was probably a little bit more beneficial to the industry than bad,” Neff said. “It starts to put our trees into a dormant condition in which they will be less susceptible to freeze damage should a really hard freeze come later.”

Nevertheless, many growers took steps to protect their trees from freezing in the plunging temperatures.

Fred Dunn, owner of Dunn’s Citrus Nursery in central Florida’s Orange County, said that some of his trees have been banked with dirt, and that others will be sprayed with water to form a protective ice coating. Heaters were being used to protect other trees in pots.

In Tallahassee, it was 13 degrees today, 1 degree below the old record low of 14 set in 1983.

In Alabama, the temperature plunged to 2 degrees in Hamilton in the north and to 16 in Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico.

Nathan Upshaw, 77, of Hatchechubbee in south-central Alabama died of asphyxiation when his house was filled with smoke from a faulty fireplace, Russell County Coroner Jerry Key said.

Fires in Alabama

Several families in Birmingham were left homeless by fires caused by faulty fireplaces, chimneys or heaters, officials said. Fires were also reported in Tuscaloosa, Jasper, Gadsden, Cullman and Sylacauga.

The mercury dropped below 20 degrees across much of Georgia early today, with temperatures ranging from 9 in Atlanta in the north to 19 in Valdosta in the south.

A record low of 5 degrees was set in Greer, S.C. The previous record was 6 degrees in 1983.

In Meridian, Miss., it was 10 degrees today, tying the 1983 record.

The cold snap strained shelters already full during the Christmas holiday. Ed Billings of the Providence Home men’s shelter in Columbia, S.C., said all beds were taken for the night.

“This time of year, we’re always full . . . the cold, the loneliness,” he said.