February marched in like a lion in Vero Beach, with three consecutive nights of record-breaking subfreezing temperatures not seen here in decades. Described by meteorologists as an “historic cold weather outbreak,” the extended chill left homeowners across the city, and the city itself, with droopy, brown trees, hedges and other plants.
The mercury dipped down to 26 degrees here on Feb. 1, breaking the previous record low of 29 degrees for that date, set in 1966. If that wasn’t enough, temperatures plunged to 27 degrees the next night, breaking another record low set in 1980 – by 7 degrees.
On Feb. 3, the mercury dropped below freezing again, this time to 31 degrees, one degree lower than the previous record of 32 degrees set in 1976…