Spring Gets Cold Shoulder : Winter Lingers From Texas to Carolinas

Leftover winter weather pushed across the South in defiance of spring today with a blast of record cold air from Texas to the Carolinas that threatened to nip peach blossoms in the bud and harm other fruit and vegetable crops.

Canadian winds pushed temperatures to the single digits and below zero in the Northeast and funneled frosty air into the South on the second day of spring. Frost and freeze warnings were posted from north Texas across the lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys into Georgia and the Carolinas.

Record lows were set in 14 cities from Kentucky to Maine. It was a record 8 below in Caribou, Me., and in Lexington, Ky., a reading of 15 toppled the century-old mark of 16. Atop Mt. Washington, N.H., the mercury slid to 23 below, snapping the 1965 record of 14.

Aggravating the threat to southern crops were brisk northerly winds gusting to 20 m.p.h. that swept along the Gulf Coast. Gale warnings were issued from Texas to Florida, as well as on the coasts off the Carolinas.

Freezing temperatures today extended as far south as Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta, and the mercury was expected to dip to 23 degrees in central Georgia, the state’s major peach-growing section, said Stephen Myers, Georgia Extension Service horticulturist.

“Peaches are now in full-bloom stage, which is very susceptible to cold,” he said, adding “the potential is there” for significant damage. But even if only 5% to 10% of the blooms survive, there could still be “close to a full crop,” he said.

In North Carolina, a hard freeze predicted for the eastern part of the state threatened the Piedmont region’s peach, strawberry and blueberry crops.

“A freeze warning means the winds are high enough that most frost protection techniques . . . will not be very effective,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Sabones.

The frigid temperatures were also expected to damage fruit and vegetable crops in Alabama, where officials also feared stress on poultry and livestock.

The blast of Canadian air sent temperatures plummeting to the single digits in parts of the Northeast.

“Spring?” asked Eric Demme, 33, of the Buffalo suburb of Elma, where it was 12 degrees. “Here it springs from winter to summer, from summer to winter.”