Citrus crop escapes significant damage from cold Published: Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:08 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 1:25 p.m. LAKELAND - Cold weather swept across Florida’s citrus belt late Wednesday night and early this morning, but temperatures didn’t get low enough for long enough to cause significant damage to the crop, Florida Citrus Mutual reported. “We feel like we dodged the proverbial bullet,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers association.. “There will probably be spot damage here and there, but in terms of large-scale problems, we came through OK.” In Winter Haven on Wednesday, the low was 36 degrees, recorded 11:53 p.m. by the National Weather Service's automated weather station at Winter Haven Municipal Airport. It got colder after that, with the temperature getting down to 29 degrees at 6:53 a.m. today, but by 8:53 a.m. today, the temperature was at 33 degrees and rising. At 1 p.m. today, the temperature at the airport was 46 degrees. The temperature had been forecast to fall to as low as 24 degrees overnight. Temperatures must reach 28 degrees for a four-hour period to cause damage to the oranges, grapefruit and tangerines grown in Florida. Although there were reports of subfreezing temperatures around the state, in most cases they weren’t sustained for four hours, according to Florida Citrus Mutual. The Agricultural Weather Information Service (AWIS) out of Auburn, Ala., which Mutual uses as a forecaster, accurately tracked overnight temperatures. “We are still assessing scattered freeze damage to citrus crops from the Jan. 22 event, so I’m relieved that Mother Nature cut us a break this time,” said Fran Becker, Mutual’s president and vice president of fruit procurement at Peace River Citrus Products Inc. in Arcadia. “Looking ahead to tonight, we should be OK as temperatures are forecast to be a few degrees higher. However, we will have good radiational cooling conditions across the citrus belt and the usual cold spots could see lower temps and heavy frost. We still expect to produce the quality crop that Florida is known for.” The AccuWeather weather service is forecasting a gradual warming of temperatures through Monday, with the high that day expected to be around 76 degrees and the low expected to be around 55. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to issue its next crop, which most likely will account for the freeze damage Florida citrus has experienced in the past month, according to Florida Citrus Mutual. For details on the estimate, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/index.asp.