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    • Freeze Warning for Lansing area issued by National Weather Service
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    Freeze Warning for Lansing area issued by National Weather Service

    Vaseline Posted on

    LANSING — It looks like it’s time to bring tender plants from outside in ahead of what could be the area’s first hard freeze of the season.

    Mid-Michigan could see a hard freeze Monday evening and Wednesday night, the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids said in an online post. There could be lighter frost on Tuesday.

    “Chilly fall air will keep our daytime temperatures in the 40s and 50s for the next few days,” the weather service said. “Icy nights are expected and some spots could see temperatures in the 20s on both (Monday) and Wednesday evenings.”

    Last week, parts of the area experienced the first night frost of the season.

    Gratiot, Clinton, Ingham, Eaton and Ionia counties are under a freeze warning tonight.

    The weather service said cooler air moving south from Canada with north to northeasterly winds will keep highs today under partly sunny skies at around 50 to 54 degrees, with lows overnight dropping to 27 to 34 degrees in the Greater Lansing area.

    Tuesday could see highs as high as 47 to 51, while Wednesday should see a slight rebound to 54 to 56.

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

    There is a chance of showers early this week.

    How can I save my plants?

    There are few agricultural producers or gardeners with plants already in the ground that can do anything to limit the risk of temperatures associated with hard freezes, according to Michigan State University Agricultural Extension.

    “Home gardeners can bring cold-sensitive plants into the garage or heated room overnight and return the plants once freezing temperatures pass,” the department said.

    Can I keep plants that I cannot move?

    Some strategies are more practical than others for gardeners.

    • You can cover crops with winter blankets or frost dust to use the soil’s radiant heat to keep vegetation from freezing, MSU said.
    • In other cases, you can use hoop houses for cold-sensitive crops, where the crops are protected with an extra warm air mass in the stable.
    • Irrigate plants during frost conditions, as a small amount of heat is released when the ice that forms on the plants melts, protecting them from the freezing air temperatures.
    • Use a wind machine to bring some of the warmer air in an inversion layer back to the ground surface to warm the canopy layer.

    Vaseline
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