"Ice quakes" heard across Illinois

These young pear blossoms were protected from frost on Tuesday by a coat of ice in an orchard on Voorhies Road owned by Naumes, Inc. Overhead sprinklers are used to coat the sensitive plants with ice, protecting the blossoms on cold nights so they’ll remain viable and eventually produce fruit. Other methods of preventing frost damage include portable orchard heaters and wind machines. Despite recent sunny days, nighttime lows could still drop below freezing. - Jim Craven