01/21/10 - Cold Weather Effects
Posted 1/24. It is finally warming up now, but the approximate 3 weeks of abnormally cold temperatures we had wreaked havoc on our environment across Florida. I guess one reason I wanted to publish this post was to show that I wasn't the only one that was cold...
Thousands of fish died because they couldn't handle the low water temps, which dipped into the low 50s and high 40s. I just went out on the 21st to take some pictures, but a lot of the dead fish had either been eaten by other animals, decomposed, washed out into deeper waters, or were cleaned-up by people.
A Lady Fish (similar to a small Tarpon) on Crystal Beach
Since I was late (due to my own hibernation), there weren't many to be found. I looked at Crystal Beach, at a canal near my father's mobile home (a lot of canals and inlets dead-end around here, so many dead fish washed into these areas), and at a waterfront restaurant that Laura and I went to last night (1/23).
A Snook on CB
As much as I wanted to stick to my own photos, I looked at a local newspaper's web site, and downloaded a few. They have the advantage of starting earlier and covering more ground than me... :-) So, the following photo is from their site, it shows MANY fish floating on the water, and is meant to shock readers!
A lot of dead fish at Treasure Island (less than 45 min south of us)
A lot of local plants suffered, as my photo below demonstrates.
A Hibiscus tree at the bottom of my stairs
It also affected a lot of crops, as shown in the St. Pete Times photos below. Local farmers spray some of their crops with water, and the ice that forms protects them from cold temps (likely any temps lower than 32 degrees F).
Oranges and Strawberries with a protective coat of frozen water
Apparently, the state of Florida can't handle extended periods of cold temperatures well, as I could cite many more bad effects. Really, I just need to get this post published, so I will end it here... :-)
Thousands of fish died because they couldn't handle the low water temps, which dipped into the low 50s and high 40s. I just went out on the 21st to take some pictures, but a lot of the dead fish had either been eaten by other animals, decomposed, washed out into deeper waters, or were cleaned-up by people.
Since I was late (due to my own hibernation), there weren't many to be found. I looked at Crystal Beach, at a canal near my father's mobile home (a lot of canals and inlets dead-end around here, so many dead fish washed into these areas), and at a waterfront restaurant that Laura and I went to last night (1/23).
As much as I wanted to stick to my own photos, I looked at a local newspaper's web site, and downloaded a few. They have the advantage of starting earlier and covering more ground than me... :-) So, the following photo is from their site, it shows MANY fish floating on the water, and is meant to shock readers!
A lot of local plants suffered, as my photo below demonstrates.
It also affected a lot of crops, as shown in the St. Pete Times photos below. Local farmers spray some of their crops with water, and the ice that forms protects them from cold temps (likely any temps lower than 32 degrees F).
Apparently, the state of Florida can't handle extended periods of cold temperatures well, as I could cite many more bad effects. Really, I just need to get this post published, so I will end it here... :-)
posted by Mark at 1/24/2010 04:32:00 PM
2 Comments:
Very interesting post, Mark! Mother Nature is not always so kind, is it......take poor Haiti, for instance!
One thing about your thought-provoking pics is this: it is only one portion of Florida that suffered this type of devastation. To try and realize the totality of all the nature destruction would be most difficult. Just the manatees alone suffered tremendously.
Good to know that most of Florida's residents do like to appreciate all of what is here for us.....
Thanks for sharing...
The Gregory Clan
Mary,
Thanks for the comment! It was just an excuse for me to post pictures of dead fish! No, just kidding! Just wanted to show some of bad things that happened, and it just wasn't me that felt cold...
-Mark
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