Spotty banana shortage hits Boston area

Right now, you can split Boston-area supermarkets into two groups: The bunch where they have plenty of bananas and the ones where, yes, they have no bananas.

Unseasonal weather in the banana-growing regions of Central America - colder and rainier than usual - have peeled back the normal supply of bananas, according to signs that have been warning Market Basket shoppers for a couple weeks now. A strike by Chiquita workers over health care costs in Honduras has also reduced supply.

Tonight, the banana shelves were completely bare at the Hyde Park Shaw's, but one correspondent let slip that the Chestnut Hill Star Market, owned by the same company, had plenty, as did the Coolidge Corner Trader Joe's.

The Roche Bros. in West Roxbury was running short, but the Hyde Park Stop & Shop had plenty, as did the South Bay Stop & Shop.