South Floridians are finding themselves shopping for items they’re not used to buying, as temperatures continue to stay cooler than normal.

Customers made trips to local stores, but many of them are having a hard time finding what they need.

Space heaters and fire wood have become unusually hot commodities as people try to stay warm this season.

Meanwhile, Florida farmers worked to salvage millions of dollars worth of crops and sun-seeking tourists were met with chilly temperatures expected to last through the weekend as an unusual Southern cold snap gripped the Gulf states on Wednesday.

In central and south Florida, farmers were trying to salvage citrus and vegetable crops by spraying them in protective layers of ice and covering them in plastic. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order Wednesday that gave the state’s Division of Emergency Management and other agencies the authority to provide farmers with assistance.

Weather in the South this time of year is typically chilly for just a day or two before temperatures rebound into the 50s. Many homes weren’t built to handle such cold, with uninsulated pipes and heat pumps that must continuously run to keep things barely comfortable.

Miami Meteorologist Dan Dixon said Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach were expected to approach or set record-low overnight temperatures Wednesday morning.

(Source: WSVN)