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    • Freeze warning for the Lansing area from the National Weather Service
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    Freeze warning for the Lansing area from the National Weather Service

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    LANSING – It looks like it’s time to get tender plants out of doors before the region could experience its first hard freeze of the season.

    Central Michigan could experience heavy frost both Monday evening and Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service Grand Rapids office said in an online post. There could be weaker frost on Tuesday.

    “The cooler fall air over the next few days will keep our daytime temperatures in the 40s and 50s,” the weather service said. “Freezy nights are expected, and some spots may fall into the 20s both (Monday night) and Wednesday night.”

    Last week parts of the region experienced their first frost of the season.

    A freeze warning is in effect for Gratiot, Clinton, Ingham, Eaton and Ionia counties this evening.

    The weather service said cooler air moving south from Canada with north to northeasterly winds will keep high temperatures around 50 to 54 degrees today under partly sunny skies, while low temperatures will fall to 27 to 34 degrees overnight in the Lansing area .

    Highs of 47 to 51 could be reached on Tuesday, while Wednesday is expected to see a slight rebound to 54 to 56.

    However, lows will reach 31 to 37 Tuesday evening and then fall to 28 to 34 overnight Wednesday.

    Showers are possible early this week.

    How can I save my plants?

    Agricultural producers or home gardeners with plants already in the ground can do little to mitigate the risk from temperatures associated with hard freezes, according to Michigan State University’s Agricultural Extension.

    “Home gardeners can move cold-sensitive plants into the garage or heated area overnight and move the plants outside once subzero temperatures have passed,” the department said.

    Can I save plants that I can’t move?

    Some strategies are more practical for home gardeners than others.

    • You can cover plants with winter blankets or frost fabric to harness the soil’s radiant heat and prevent vegetation from freezing, MSU said.
    • In other cases, you can use hoop houses for cold-sensitive plants, where the plants are protected by an additional warm air mass inside the house.
    • Water plants during frost because as the ice that has formed on the plants melts, a small amount of heat is released, protecting them from the freezing air temperatures.
    • Use a wind machine to bring some of the warmer air back to the soil surface in an inversion layer to warm the plant canopy layer.
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    Madoc Meredith
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