Northern Michigan Cherry Crops Damaged By Weird Spring Weather

NORTHERN MI (WWJ/AP) - Northern Michigan's tart cherry growers are starting to report serious damage from a hard freeze that followed a late-winter heat wave.

A weeklong hot spell in mid-March triggered widespread budding earlier than usual.

Then the typical cold weather returned, with temperatures dipping into the 20s at some points.

A longtime fruit farmer near Traverse City says nearly 90 percent of the buds on his 550 acres of tart cherry trees have been killed.