FROSTS
Jim McKenney (Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:30:00 PST)

Isn’t there some ambiguity in the way we use this word “frost”?

In the usage I'm familiar with, “frost” is something observed at above
freezing temperatures: the light dusting of white observed on mornings when
the air temperature is above freezing but maybe well down into the 30sF.

Yet many other people seem to use the term “frost” to refer to below
freezing temperatures, as in “we had five degrees of frost this morning”.

What some people call “frost damage” I would call “freeze damage”. Basil and
coleus are prone to frost damage in the terminology I’m used to; lilies
which sprout too early are prone to freeze damage but are rarely bothered by
frost.

How are others using these words?

Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where 65º F is predicted
today.
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