Chilly Forecast Puts Farmers on Frost Alert

With forecasters calling for another cold, clear winter night, Ventura County farmers readied their wind machines and orchard heaters late Monday and kept an eye on the falling temperatures.

Agricultural meteorologist Terry Schaeffer said temperatures in some inland areas could drop into the upper 20s Monday night, bringing frost to orchards and fields near Santa Paula and Ojai.

Farmers had already spent an evening on alert Sunday. And while many said they did not expect serious problems Monday night, they were prepared to protect their crops should the temperature fall below freezing.

“We’re watching it cautiously, but we haven’t seen any dips that would turn on our wind machines,” said Larry Rose, sales manager for Brokaw Nursery in Ventura.

The wind machines churn the air above a field or orchard, mixing cold air close to the ground with warmer air above. Rose said the machines can raise temperatures about four degrees--not much, but often enough to ward off crop damage.

The cold night was expected after a blustery day in which temperatures in Ventura didn’t make it past 57 degrees. Winds gusting up to 35 mph at the Ventura Harbor added to the chill.

Those winds were expected to fade overnight, with sea breezes Tuesday reaching 15 mph, according to the National Weather Service. And the billowy white clouds that filled local skies in the afternoon were expected to disappear Monday night.

The county should gradually warm up through the rest of the week, with high temperatures climbing back into the 60s on Thursday, said Stuart Seto of the weather service. And rain might return Wednesday, although Seto said the chance was slight.

Schaeffer said the late-season cold snap was unusual, but not very dangerous to crops.

“This isn’t a real severe case,” he said. “It just feels colder since we’ve had such a mild winter.”