The Great Frost of 2007

The first weekend of April in 2007 will be remembered in these parts as the Great Frost of 2007. An Arctic cold front swept down from Canada mid week and sent temperatures plummeting. Three nights of hard frost were the result. Record lows were recorded all over the region. The last frost date in my area happens to be April 15, but we haven’t had a frost this late in years. Furthermore, this frost was unusual in its length and intensity.
The worst thing about this frost however, was not the frost itself, but rather what happened before it. Spring has been coming earlier here every year. This year, it warmed into the 60s in February. All of March the temps were into the 80s and sometimes breached ninety. All the trees leafed out early. Plants sprouted sooner than usual. Crops and fruit trees bloomed. Then came the frost. If the early warm up hadn’t happened, the damage would have been limited or non-existent. As it was, early reports indicate that 90% of the state’s crops were destroyed. This includes all the fruit, nuts, winter wheat, and the first plantings of corn, alfalfa, and spring wheat. Spring vegetables –broccoli, radishes, etc, also took a hit in many places. Including in my own garden. No one knows what the final tally will be. One thing is sure, however: there won’t be a lot of fresh fruit in Alabama this year, and food prices are going to rise.
Welcome to the age of climate change.