The coldest stretch in at least five years will send temperatures in Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop plunging below freezing through at least Friday morning.
The temperature this morning was expected to drop as low as 23 degrees. The forecast for Thursday calls for a low of 25 degrees with Friday having an anticipated low of 22 degrees.
The cold snap comes just a week after above normal temperatures for mid-February saw the highs reach into the low 70s. The helped trigger a week earlier than normal almond blossom bloom.
The freeze comes at an inopportune time as millions and millions of bees are in the middle of the critical pollination season for some 104,000 acres of almonds in the Manteca, Escalon, Ripon, and Tracy areas.
The temperatures will be too cold in the day for any significant pollination to take place.
The mercury will be struggling through Friday to even reach 60 degrees.
The rain that fell Tuesday was light meaning rain damage to the blossoms will be minimal at worst. Freezing conditions may pose issues.
In the case of citrus trees and delicate plants the freezing temperatures can kill or damage them.
On the flip side, the rain that did fall is likely be enough to keep the ground moist for almond trees until the South San Joaquin Irrigation District irrigation season starts March 2. A week ago, some growers were forced to use expensive well water when the first inch or so of soil in their orchards were devoid of moisture.
The National Weather Service expects freezing conditions to be present between six and eight hours at the coldest locations.
The City of Manteca is opening the Manteca Transit Center as an emergency warming center through Friday from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The cold weather will make the three-day 60th annual Ripon Almond Blossom Festival that gets underway Friday a brisk event although winds will not be as strong as they have often been in the past during the event featuring a vendor fair and carnival at Mistlin Sports Park.
San Francisco is expected to be the warm spot when it comes to overnight lows with temperatures not dropping below 40 degrees. Sonora and Yosemite Valley are expecting lows in the mid-10s.
Snow fell Tuesday down to as low as 1,000 feet near Auburn, Placerville and Volcano leaving a light dusting.
There were reports of hail in the Ripon-Manteca area late Tuesday afternoon. Most that fell was more of a slushy ice.
After a dry January, the higher elevations above 4,000 feet received as much as 12 inches. That is expected to help the snowpack water content bounce back.
A historic heavy snowfall in parts of the Sierra was negated by the dry January. That led to Department of Water Resources surveys on Feb. 1 showing snowpack water contact significantly below average for that date.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
