In Vidzeme and Latgale, fruit trees and bushes were severely affected by frost

Last night, the air temperature in the Vidzeme highlands dropped below -5 degrees. According to the data of the Environmental Geology and Meteorology Center of Latvia (LVĜMC), this is a new cold record for May 9. Fruit growers, who spent the night in many places trying to protect blooming fruit trees from frost, are very concerned about the damage caused by frost.

The strongest frosts last night were recorded in the vicinity of Madonas and Zosēni, where minus 5.5 degrees were recorded at the LVĜMC observation stations. On the other hand, in Rēzekne, the air cooled down to minus 5.1 degrees. The cold record of May 9 was also recorded in Dagda, Alūksne and Gulbene. Laura Rubane, forecaster of LVĜMC: “Already on Tuesday, a colder air mass gradually entered the territory of the country from the Northeast, which is why a frost warning was announced for both the night of Wednesday and Thursday. If on the night of Wednesday a yellow warning was announced for the entire territory of the country, then already on the night of Thursday the yellow warning was in the central and eastern regions of the country, but in the eastern part an orange warning was also announced for very strong frosts, which were also observed.”

Fruit growers are concerned about the damage caused by frost, especially already in Vidzeme and Latgale. In the Latvian Fruit Growers Association, ReTV states that the frost most affected the fruit trees blooming at the beginning of May, such as cherries and pears. In places where the frosts were the strongest, fruit growers tried to protect the flowering fruit trees by spraying them with water. “This year, there are indicators in the gardens that there would be very large harvests. Everything is in one flower, starting with berries and ending with apple trees. The one part that froze last year, rested, absorbed nutrients and formed buds, would now have that rich harvest year. Maybe 20 to 30% of the flowers will be damaged, that’s nothing, the fruits will be bigger and will be able to survive. But for those who had these -7 and -5 degrees, everyone there will be frozen, people there are desperate.”

Meanwhile, forecasters predict that the air temperature will be between +4 and +9 degrees in the coming night, and no more damaging frosts are predicted in the following nights either.