Orange growers across Florida are now bracing themselves for potential crop damage as a chilly blast from the arctic has managed to pull temperatures to records lows on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Sleet and snow, in addition to rain, has been reported for Saturday from the  Tampa Bay area to near and north of Orlando, and this is the first time that snow or sleet has occurred in the west-central area of Florida since January 8, 1996, as has been confirmed by the the National Weather Service in Tampa.

No snow has been seen by the immediate Tampa Bay area since December 23, 1989.

On Friday, with temperatures remaining above critical levels, growers of oranges managed to fare alright, but worries grow stronger as a strong and high pressure system is starting to bear down on the area.

Between 9 PM EST Saturday to 9 AM EST on Sunday, the NSW has sounded a freeze warning which means that temperatures are expected to fall below 27 F to 32 F for at least 3 to 4 more hours over the large area, which is the heart of the orange growing belt.

"We will undoubtedly suffer some damage to this season's crop tomorrow [Sunday] AM and again on Monday AM", said Fran Becker, President of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual and Vice President of fruit procurement for Peace River Citrus Products Inc.