The Great November Freeze
An early, record-breaking cold snap catches Kennewick farmers unprepared, endangering the apple harvest and shipping logistics.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Only twice before in the history of local weather records has winter gripped this valley so early and with such a vengeance as during the present week. Early Sunday evening the thermometer began to show signs of distress and Monday morning the valley awoke to one of its sterner moods, with the mercury registering 5 degrees above zero. The present cold snap came on so unexpectedly that the farmers were taken unawares and considerable damage has been done to unharvested crops. While local growers have had some of their crops frozen, the damage will not be great, though thousands of boxes awaiting shipment sit in warehouses. Growers and shipping agencies have resorted to hasty relief measures, and fires have been kept going night and day in packing sheds and storehouses. Under normal conditions all of the apple crop would have been shipped by this time, but shippers have been greatly handicapped by a shortage of refrigerator cars. The warehouses at the Kennewick Fruit Growers' association are piled to the ceiling with boxed apples awaiting shipment.
“The mercury in the government thermometer registering 5 degrees above zero.”
The vulnerability of the agricultural supply chain to sudden weather events is a perennial issue for Kennewick, whose economy was built on the transport of fruit. Climate volatility remains a core concern for modern Washington farmers.
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