Kaylah, If only your flu could be as entertaining for you as you've made it for us! Get well soon! Growing up in north Florida, and then attending college in Gainesville in the middle of the state, I remember plenty of hard freezes and a few snowfalls. Florida's not quite the balmy tropical place people think it is. You probably get lower lows than we do here. But the average temperature in Florida is a lot higher: you don't get week after week of temperatures that go from the high twenties to the low forties. And I bet Floridians aren't still lighting fires in the morning in early May. I always thought those frosty mornings were beautiful: a clear sky, a heavy frost on the ground, and the piercing gold sun rising above the horizon and glittering through the dark leafless trees. Don't worry Sherry, it'll pass, and the roses will be fine. Melissa

I just thought that some of you unfamiliar with frozen forms of precipitation need a quick crash course. From a previous post: "The freezing rain was pretty solid pellets, bouncing off the car, but they were teeny tiny not hard enough to be called hail" You don't have freezing rain. That occurs when rain falls as a liquid, and freezes on contact with the earth's surface. That only occurs when the temperature of the air higher in the atmosphere is above freezing (hence the rain) but the temperature at the surface is below freezing. Freezing rain is what causes "ice storms", when everything (trees, roads, etc) ends up covered in a sheet of ice. very destructive. You don't ever want that! When Floridians put the sprinklers on during a sub-freezing night to coat plants in ice, that is man-made freezing rain. You don't have hail either. That occurs with strong up drafts during spring and summer thunderstorms. You are probably experiencing some sleet. Those are the really small frozen grains bouncing off your car. Sleet occurs when rain (liquid) falls through a layer of below freezing air and freezes into a small frozen grain before hitting the surface (in contrast to freezing rain which stays liquid until contact with the surface). And even though the temperature at the surface may be a little above freezing (say 35 degrees), it is not enough to melt the sleet particle before contact. Snow occurs when the air above the surface is all below freezing. The snowflake then falls to the surface where the temperature may be slightly above freezing. It may melt on contact or lead to a small slushy accumulation (in your area) or 2 feet (my area-sometimes anyway). Enjoy!

Sure, bring it! They do well in Jupiter Farms, should be okay in the much warmer Loxahatchee area too. Lisa

SE Wisc: Someone turned of the "snow switch" at 3 pm this afternoon. The forecasters are predicting 4 to 6 inches. I know it will be more than 4 inches becasue we have that much right now. Its messy to deal with, but we need the gound moisture. It'll be good for the winter wheat and hay grasses planted last fall. My backyard deer herd appeared early this evening to brouse. They usually come around at midnight or later. Today, they apeared at 5 pm - it was almost dark and snowing. There are 7 in this herd and all came out tonight. Often, only a few at a time apear in the open with the others staying under cover.