North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

On May 12, 2009, at 12:13 AM, Steve wrote:

> The National Weather Service forecast is for a low of 23 tonight with 
> "Patchy Frost". The weather channel was predicting a hard freeze with a 
> low of 30. (I see they are now saying 26 degrees.)
>
> Mostly I'm just complaining about the weather but my question is, how 
> can the NWS call 23 degrees "Patchy Frost"? Wouldn't that be a pretty 
> widespread frost at that temperature? Wouldn't it actually be a hard freeze?

Around here we often get the reverse problem in the forecast: "Widespread frost predicted tonight with lows in the mid-thirties." Huh? 

To partially defend the weather service: this is an area where it's perfectly possible for a significant chunk of their covered area to have frost or even hard freeze, while other portions of the area have temperatures in the midthirties or even in the low forties. But I still think the above forecast would make much more sense phrased as, "Lows in the mid-thirties in some areas, but significant areas of frost expected". (The actual result, right where my thermometer was hanging, turned out to be 33º; I'm in neither the coldest nor warmest place that they cover. I have a friend in a cold spot who may well have gotten mid-twenties last night.)

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly