Frost and Freeze in Florida, January 8 to 9, 2002

Polar high pressure settled over the Florida peninsula early on the 9th, allowing for the most widespread freeze event of the winter. Temperatures fell into the low and mid 20s north of Tampa Bay, and in the upper 20s to lower 30s elsewhere away from large bodies of water, extending south to Charlotte County. Overload of the power grid in Hernando County caused outages to 10,000 residents in Spring Hill during the early morning hours. This freeze featured a heavy frost. The frost caused additional thinning of excess foliage, but was also a good thing for local crop farmers, who were able to use insulating methods to minimize damage.No significant damage was reported to agriculture; in fact, the cold snaps were welcome to citrus farmers. Cold snaps in early to mid January often ensure at least a normal onset of spring blooms, usually in February.A light frost occurred across portions of Hernando, Citrus, and Sumter County on the 10th, but duration of subfreezing temperatures was generally less than 2 hours and affects were minimal.