Recent record-breaking cold temperatures that gripped Georgia this month may deliver unexpected benefits for the state’s agricultural sector, even as farmers assess damage from last week’s massive snowstorm.
While the frigid weather dealt damage to many trees and winter crops in the Peach State, climatologists note a potential upside: the deep freeze likely eliminated numerous agricultural pests and diseases that typically survive mild winters and carry over into the spring.
“That’s one good thing about it,” said University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agricultural climatologist Pam Knox, referring to the January cold spells. By contrast, she explained, “when we have really warm winters, that means that farmers have to work harder to apply pesticides and herbicides in the next growing season.”
Although this silver lining offers hope for lower pest management costs later in the year, Knox noted that the extreme temperatures have nevertheless taken a harsh toll on some plants, particularly citrus.
“It’s especially hard on the younger plants that have just been planted, because they haven’t had the time to develop their cold hardiness yet,” she said. “Usually they can take it to about 15 degrees, but if it gets below that, there starts to be more problems.”
Even as last week’s storm brought significant snowfall, its impact on Georgia’s ongoing drought conditions may be minimal, owing to the fact that it was largely dry snow — as opposed to moisture-rich wet snow — that blanketed much of the state.
“One of the things we’ve noticed is that even though we’ve had a lot of snow, the snow water content has not been that high,” Knox said. “So, dry conditions are really showing up across a lot of the region.”
Looking ahead, she predicts that the South will experience gradual warming trends, but cautioned that winter “outbreaks” remain possible through March.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
