Shiver me timbers
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/24/MN9B10AM8Q.DTL
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The worst spring cold snap in more than 30 years is threatening to wreak havoc on the wine industry as three recent days of frost have killed grapevine buds up and down the crucial North Coast vineyard region.
So far, grape growers estimate that as much as 10 percent of their crops could be lost, an unusual occurrence in an industry that hasn't seen a significant spring frost since the early 1970s.
Farmers usually turn on their frost-protection machines a couple of times a year when the thermometer dips below 40 degrees, but so far this year some said they have had to activate them as many as 30 times.
Before this year, frost had affected the vineyards of the North Coast to this extent only in 1971 and in the late 1940s, growers said
National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson said the region hasn't set any records for cold this year - that was set in 1990, at 14 degrees in Napa County. But Saturday, Sunday and Monday were unusually chilly, with the thermometer dipping below the freezing point of 32 degrees each day.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
