Hi everybody and welcome! Thursday, August 7, will be a day many Palm Beach county residents will not soon forget. A thunderstorm that moved initially over the Jupiter-Tequesta area rapidly developed into a tornadic cell that did major damage in many areas of Palm Beach County. The twister hopped and jumped its way south along eastern Palm Beach County destroying and damaging anything in its path. The twister looked more like something we would see in the Mid-West and not in our area. Generally, twisters that form in our backyard usually are very short lived and most never even touch down. I think seeing how much was destroyed brings back memories of hurricane Andrew and the destruction that he left behind. The Riviera Beach area was one of the hardest hit areas. If you were traveling on I-95, the commute home was a total nightmare as parts of the interstate was closed due to the number of traffic accidents. In addition, many people were without power due to downed power lines.
One of the hard hit areas was the Gardens Walk Motor Home Park. There were many overturned and damaged mobile homes along with many trees reported down. In Riviera Beach, the roof of the Pepsi plant was severely damaged and some of the trucks were overturned. In the area of Congress and Blue Heron Blvd. Extensive damage was reported by Palm Beach Fire Rescue.
The preliminary report showed the tornado to be a F-1 tornado with a path width of 200 – 300 yards wide. The storm cut an approximately 3 mile long path from Palm Beach Gardens to Riviera Beach. An F-1 tornado is considered a weak tornado with winds of around 73 – 112 mph. These measurements are based on the Fujita scale which ranges from F-0 being the weakest to F-5 being the strongest. The scale is as follows.
F-0 – {weak} Winds of 40-72 mph. Light Damage.
F-1 – {weak} Winds of 73-112 mph. Moderate damage.
F-2 – {strong} Winds of 113-157 mph. Considerable damage.
F-3 – {strong} Winds of 158-206 mph. Severe Damage.
F-4 – {violent} Winds of 207-260 mph. Devastating damage.
F-5 – {violent} Winds of 261-318. Incredible damage.
As you can see, our weather can turn violent in a matter of minutes. All it takes is the right ingredients to let Mother Nature cook up a potent brew. Always be on guard whenever severe weather threatens and be sure to have a NOAA weather radio on hand whether you are at work or at home. It could save your life!
The mid-season hurricane forecast has just been released and the numbers just keep climbing with every update. NOAA has now increased its total named storms to near 15. The average is 10 named storms in any given year. The number of hurricanes has been bumped up to 9. The historical average is around 6. The number of major storms is projected to be 4. The historical average is 2.3.
Right now, there are many areas of convection moving off the coast of Africa. As these areas move westward across the Atlantic as tropical waves, they stand a decent chance of turning into tropical storms or hurricanes.
Now, on to the Time Capsule…
August 15-l6, l994 -- Tropical Storm Beryl -- formed in the northeast Gulf of Mexico and moved slowly east-northeast, crossing the Florida panhandle coastline near Panama City at 2000 on the l5th. Beryl greatly added to the woes of people who were still recovering from Tropical Storm Alberto in July. At landfall the maximum sustained wind was estimated at 58 mph. The maximum reported storm tide of 2.9 feet and the greatest rainfall total of l0.69 inches was observed at Apalachicola, but higher values likely occurred to the east of this location. Beryl weakened to a tropical depression as it moved northeast into extreme southwest Georgia at 0800 on the l6th. There were no deaths and only l injury directly attributable to Beryl and damage was estimated at $5.9 million. Coastal damage included tidal flooding that undermined a few roads and houses and eroded beaches and sea walls. Several moored boats were damaged and three persons on a fishing boat offshore the panhandle had to be rescued. Winds did minor roof damage and downed trees and signs along the coast. Inland, trees were blown down damaging roofs and power was lost to 20,000 customers. The heavy rain caused flooding of low lying areas that lasted more than a week, damaging houses and vehicles. The oyster beds in Apalachicola Bay closed due to contamination.
August l6, l994 -- Okaloosa Co., Destin Beach -- A 4l-year-old male tourist drowned in a rip current at Miramar Beach near Destin while saving his l3-year-old- daughter. The rip current was caused by swells and strong onshore winds in the wake of Tropical Storm Beryl.
August 16-l9, l98l -- south and east central Florida -- Tropical Storm Dennis - The center of Dennis moved slowly through the Florida Straits on the l6th and onto the lower southwest coast during the morning of the l7th. Dennis then moved northeastward through southern Florida, emerging into the Atlantic between Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach early on the 18th, taking nearly three days to cross the state. Highest winds occurred mostly in squalls well east of the center. The highest wind gusts reported with Dennis were 55 to 60 MPH along the lower southeast coast on the l7th. Two tornadoes were reported (Plantation Key and Haulover Beach) as Dennis moved through the Keys and Florida Bay, but no injuries or significant damage resulted.
The primary damage in Dennis resulted from widespread flooding in agricultural areas and was most severe in the extreme southern part of Florida Peninsula. Ten to 20 inches of rain fell south and east of Lake Okeechobee, with amounts of five to l0 inches reported along the southeast and east-central coast. West Kendall (Dade Co.) measured 20.37 inches and amounts in the l9 to 20-inch range were common through the Homestead/Florida City area. Besides agricultural damage, floodwater came into many homes and businesses in the Homestead/Florida City area, and into most homes in the East Everglades area.
August 17-18, 1881 -- south and central Florida -- A hurricane moved in from the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near Naples. It crossed the peninsula and exited into the Atlantic near Vero Beach.
August 17 - l8, l969 -- afternoon-evening -- Panhandle -- Hurricane Camille devastated coastal Mississippi, but her effect on Florida was relatively minor. No reporting station observed winds of hurricane force. Most property damage was caused by high tides, which ranged from an estimate 6.3 feet above astronomical tide in the Pensacola area to less than 2.5 feet above the astronomical tide east of Apalachicola. Property damages, including beach erosion and crop losses, were estimated near one-half million dollars with the major portion of the damages in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Crop losses were mostly corn and pecans blown from trees. At least two tornadoes and many funnel clouds and waterspouts were reported in the Pensacola area on the l7th, but they caused no major damage.
August l7, l972 -- Pinellas Co., St. Petersburg -- Lightning killed a man while he was opening his car door in a parking lot.
August l7, l974 -- Hillsborough Co., Tampa -- Lightning killed a thirty-two year old woman and injured two children while they were watching an air show.
August l7, l975 -- Lee Co., Ft. Myers -- Lightning killed an eighteen year old and injured his wife while they were fishing on a pier.
August l7, l994 -- Bay Co., Panama City Beach -- A 45-year-old male tourist drowned in a rip current at Panama City Beach. The rip current was caused by swells and strong onshore winds in the wake of Tropical Storm Beryl.
17 1996 - 1530 - Collier Co., Naples Park - Two persons were killed and six injured by a single lightning strike while picnicking at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area. The incident occurred at the height of the thunderstorm when lightning struck a 50-foot high pine tree under which a group of 25 to 30 persons were gathered using a tarpaulin as a roof. Emergency personnel exposed themselves to numerous lightning strikes while rescuing people.
August 18, 1957 -- Collier Co., Naples -- Lightning killed one person.
August l9, l987 -- Manatee Co., Bradenton -- Lightning killed a 32 year old man at a construction site.
August 20, l954 -- Pinellas Co., Pass-A-Grille -- Waterspout formed about 300 yards offshore in Gulf of Mexico, drifted southward and then eastward onto shore to damage a hotel building.
August 20, l962 -- morning -- Orange Co., Orlando -- One man was killed when the wind blew him off a flatbed truck. He was holding a 4'X 8' plywood sheet.
August 20, l967 -- Calhoun Co., Blountstown -- Lightning killed a boy, injured two others, taking refuge under a tree. They had been fishing on the Apalachicola River.
August 21, l954 -- Tampa Bay -- Windstorm described as "sudden squall" upset more than 50 small boats in Tampa Bay and Manatee River.
August 21, l963 -- afternoon -- Pinellas Co., Largo -- A tornado damaged seven homes and the roof at Starkey Elementary School. Later in the evening a waterspout moved in from the Gulf at Maderia Beach then crossed Boca Ciego Bay to Pinellas Park where homes were unroofed.
That’s all for this weeks Time Capsule. I hope you enjoyed it. I love to
hear from you! Please e-mail me your ideas and suggestions to JOESDISCOWEATHER@AOL.COM. As always,
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