Freak hail storm pummels fern fields in northwest Volusia County

SEVILLE – A hailstorm that “came out of nowhere” Sunday evening dumped ice that collected on the black coverings over his fern fields, collapsing them on acres of greenery ready to be harvested for the Valentine’s Day market. The “freak storm” as the farmers called it, dumped up to 5 inches of ice in a 300-yard swath leaving acres of covering and twisted rebar on top of leather leaf fern and other plants. “I’ve never seen anything like this. My dad built this company in 1958, and I am 56, and this is the first time I’ve seen it hail like this,” said Stacy Jones, of Ronald Jones Ferneries on Monday. Jones expected to cut fern from his 48-acre field…