Fruit farmers avoid disaster despite cold weather

 

May might be a few days away, but winter temperatures wanted one final say across Michiana Wednesday morning.

Many locations dipped below freezing and some even had low temperatures fall into the 20s early Wednesday. 

While these numbers are certainly eye catching, fortunately for fruit farmers, temperatures were only in the 20s for a couple of hours. The length of time the cold temperatures last can be just as important as how low the numbers fall. 

As a result, along with precautions to stave off the chilly weather like running the sprinklers and wind machine, Lehman's Orchard in Niles reported very minimal crop damage from the cold.

And more good news: the clouds should help temperatures not drop as far overnight into Thursday morning. 

Not as cold tonight ?️ thanks to the clouds ☁️

Last night's low of 27° was near record cold in South Bend ( 26°, 1928) #inwx

A bit milder this weekend ? https://t.co/81y0RPEq1Hpic.twitter.com/m1OF0CGLq4

— Tom Coomes (@TomCoomes) April 27, 2022

Temperatures will moderate into the month of May, with lows in the 40s and 50s becoming the norm.