It’s a record cold morning for Portland and southern Maine with many areas in the lower 20s and teens. Fryeburg is coming in at 15 degrees with Portland, as I write at just before 6 a.m., hitting 23, which broke the record of 24 set back in 2003.
You can thank high pressure from Canada for all the cold air this morning and for keeping it chilly the next couple of days. The air around high pressure systems circulates clockwise. As the high moves east today its circulation will create a cold east wind.
There are many buoys off our coastline which provide weather information to meteorologists and mariners. I checked a couple of these this morning and found water temperatures in the upper 30s and lower 40s. This cold ocean water will chill the air above it. As the wind blows from the east towards our coastal cities and towns it will also keep the air cold. The image below shows the buoy report this morning from the one off Portland. Click here to see current data
Highs today in Portland, Wells, Kennebunk and Brunswick will remain in the lower 40s. Even over far inland areas it will be cool today with Bridgton, Fryeburg and Sanford only reaching the middle 40s.
The cold days and nights continue through Saturday. On Saturday a weak weather system may bring a few showers or snow showers in the morning, but some afternoon sunshine should break through. Sunday is definitely the pick of the weekend. It will still be quite cool, but the strong April sunshine will help keep it feeling nice if you are doing yard clean-ups this weekend.
Some of you might be running in the marathon on Monday, Patriots Day. The weather in Boston will be great for running with temperatures in the 40s to start the race and 50s to near 60 depending on when you finish your run. Good luck!
I’ll be updating the forecast on Twitter @growingwisdom. Follow @growingwisdom
You might still have snow on the ground and won’t be gardening just yet, while others in southern Maine already are seeing their plants beginning the spring growth.
While it is cold this morning, it’s not unusual to have freezes and frosts through April and into May. The later we see a spring cold snap the greater chance it could do damage to some plants, but it depends on just how cold it gets and what type of plants are growing in your garden.
Plants that come out of the ground on their own are generally fine. The exception to this is if you get a hard freeze after your local areas normal date of last frost in the spring. A very late frost or freeze can damage the young leaves of some ornamental trees. Some varieties of Japanese maples are especially susceptible to late frosts. If hosta leaves are partially open these can also exhibit frost damage. The plants may not look as nice as you would like all summer, but the cold won’t actually kill any of them.
Apple and peach blooms can be damaged by a freeze if readings go below 28F for many hours. At those levels the blooms of pansies can also be damaged, but the plants themselves will still live.
Houseplants should not be put outside until all danger of frost has passed. Most of your houseplants are not hardy enough to handle any temperature under freezing and many can be damaged by temperatures even under 40F.
If you’re a vegetable gardener there are two categories of vegetables when it comes to the cold. There are those plants like kale, collards, lettuce, beets, broccoli, and cauliflower which thrive in cold weather and those like tomatoes, peppers, okra and corn which die in cold weather. Most garden centers won’t sell the warm weather plants before it’s time to put them in the ground. However, if you get a late frost or freeze you might need to cover the second group of plants.
Fava beans and peas grow well in the cool air, while string beans won’t germinate until the soil is warm and will quickly rot in the ground in cold or very wet conditions.
Newspaper, sheets and even burlap make good covers for frost protection. Tarps are not good as the plastic won’t breathe and can actually do damage to the plants. The best material to use for frost protection is something called woven row cover. This lightweight material is available from many different suppliers. I get mine from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, but you can find it elsewhere too. There are different weights of row cover depending on your need. Some is made specifically for frost and freeze protection because it’s heavier. This variety of row cover lets in less sunlight so it’s not good for insect protection. For that, use a lighter weight row cover.
If it’s windy during a cold snap be sure to secure your method of protection. I have covered my plants at 7PM in the evening thinking they would be fine only to wake-up in the morning to dead plants because the covers blew off.
Most of the time a late cold snap only lasts one or two nights and are usually followed by a period of more typical spring-warmth.
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