Hi everybody and welcome! The season is here and everybody is busy shopping and decorating and buying that oh so special gift for there loved ones. Many of us are last minute shoppers and we try to get that special present at the last minute only to find that everyone is out of what they want! I am usually one of those last minute shoppers who think of all the things I forgot to get on Christmas Eve. I am much better then I used to be since Carol keeps me on my toes and reminds me of things I need to get.
You know, I have a lot of people come into the store and ask me questions about my site and column. One of the most asked is “where did you get a name like Joe’s Disco for a website”? Well going back about 20 years ago to 1982, Dancing was my main form of entertainment. My disco partner Wanda and I used to go anywhere there was a disco contest and sometimes we would actually win. We would meet with several other friends from work just about every weekend at different clubs and literally dance the night away. One of our favorite places used to be The Commodore Lounge, which used to be in north Stuart just before the Roosevelt Bridge. We all knew the owner really well and it was almost like a second home. It was here that we learned most of our dance steps and had the most practice. As you well know, going out every weekend can get really expensive. I decided to do something about it. I got my imagination in full gear and devised a plan to build my own backyard disco. I had a huge screened in porch next to the apartment I was renting. I started with some pallets for the dance floor, carpeting on the walls {for acoustics}, bamboo on the ceilings and back walls. I then put in the finishing touches of installing colored lights in the ceiling and in the dance floor. All the lights were controlled with electronic boxes I built so that they would all go with the music. The final touches included a 6 speaker sound system and small pub style tables. The finished product was my pride and joy-Joe’s Disco. The place had a tremendous impact on a lot of lives as so many of us became such close friends, as the disco was “open” anytime and at any hour for friends. All of the Joe’s Disco originals cherish those days and we still often talk and remember all the times we had Joe’s Disco! I especially have to thank my very dear friends Trish, Jeff, Wanda, Karen and Steve, as without them, the disco would have only been a dream. The disco stayed around for about 5 years until we all slowly started drifting in our own different directions. Next week, I will talk about the rebirth of Joe’s Disco almost 15 years later!
Now, on to the Time Capsule……..
· December 19, 1995 -- Gadsden Co. 1 mile north of Mt. Pleasant - An F2 tornado destroyed a mobile home carrying the two residents over 125 yards. The men were found four hours later. One man (50) was dead, while the other, his brother, was severely injured. Items from the dwelling were found three miles away.
· December 20, l993 -- Walton Co., Sandestin -- two workers were injured when lightning struck near a construction site.
· December 21, l972 -- Suwannee Co., Live Oak -- A tornado touched down destroying a mobile home, barn, and a farmhouse.
· December 21, l994 -- southeast Florida Coast -- High Wind and Heavy Rain - Winds gusting between 40 and 50 mph caused damage to an overhang on a bank building in downtown West Palm Beach. The high winds damaged several boats in Martin County, and injured two sailors after their sailboats capsized offshore Palm Beach County and northeast Dade County. Beach sand was washed onto Highway A1A in Ft. Lauderdale. Trees and power lines were toppled by the high winds. Rainfall amounts up to 6.5 inches in l2 hours caused some flooding of poorly drained roadways.
· December 22, l969 -- Polk Co., Lake Wales -- l8 apartment units completely gutted by fire attributed to lightning.
· December 22 – 25, l989 -- Statewide -- A cold outbreak and hard freeze effected all 67 counties in Florida. Many daily and some monthly and all-time low temperature records were tied or broken. Low temperatures were in the teens in north and north central Florida and in the 20s central and south central. Snow and sleet fell as far south as a Sarasota-Melbourne line, with a maximum of two to 3 inches in the panhandle. Northeast Florida experienced its first white Christmas in recorded history and airports and interstates were closed. Many traffic accidents and several fatalities occurred on ice-covered roads in North Florida. At least six people died of hypothermia and another four in space heater related fires. Extensive crop damage, including a loss of about 30% of the $l.4 billion citrus crop, left tens of thousands of migrant farm workers unemployed. Winter vegetables, berries, nursery ornamentals and fish suffered heavy losses. Power blackouts hit hundreds of thousands of residents at various times during the holiday weekend.
· December 23-27, 1906 -- Statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 23 degrees reported at Tallahassee, 19 at Gainesville, 22 at Ocala, and 25 at Orlando.
· December 23-24, 1971 -- Statewide --An exceptionally tight pressure gradient brought strong northeasterly winds to the entire state. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph prevailed through the state for periods longer than 24 hours. The highest gust reported was 58 mph at Kennedy Space Center. The area hardest hit was along the lower east coast where one to three inches of rain added to the problems. Power and telephone lines were toppled throughout the state, limbs were broken from trees and fruit drop was noted in the citrus belt. Beach erosion in the Vero Beach area caused damage to two buildings. The strong winds blew sand into homes along the east coast beaches, and many windows facing the wind were broken. The heavy rain damaged South Dade County tomato fields and the strong winds scarred the fruit. Waves along the lower east coast reached l5 feet and several boats were destroyed and many others grounded. Three drownings occurred when boats capsized, and a l6 year old boy drowned when he was washed into the sea while photographing breakers. On Florida's West Coast, officials reported that a 43-foot sailboat lost its rigging 50 miles west of Tampa and was drifting.
· December 25, l964 -- Okaloosa Co., Niceville -- Tornado unroofed homes at Shalimar. Over l00 vehicles were damaged at Eglin AFB motor pool, along with nine warehouses and some homes. Eight homes were destroyed, and 30 more damaged at Rocky Bayou.
· December 25-26, 1983 -- Statewide -- Cold Outbreak - Unusual cold weather caused broken irrigation and water pipes. Low temperatures were in the teens in north Florida and in the 20s central and south central Florida. Inadequate heating units and carelessness with heating units caused many fires. Citrus and vegetable crops and plants were damaged and/or destroyed. Ornamental plants were damaged. Several roads in north Florida were damaged. Six people died of exposure, three in Miami, two in Jacksonville, and l in Tampa. Over $1/2 billion damage to crops.
· December 26-27, 1985 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 13 degrees reported at Tallahassee, 19 at Gainesville and Ocala, 26 at Orlando and 23 at Avon Park.
· December 27, l940 -- early morning -- Flagler Co. a tornado destroyed four tourist cabins and a home, injuring three. 0130 - Volusia Co. a tornado moved through Samsula and Port Orange damaging roofs and chimneys. Eleven barns were damaged at Samsula.
· December 27, 1996 -- Pinellas -- Dense fog developed across West and Southwest Florida during the pre-dawn through late morning. Visibilities dropped to near zero at a few locations but consistently were reported at 1/8 of a mile over West and Southwest Florida observational sites through mid morning. Patchy dense fog lingered along coastal waterways and bays of West Central Florida through late morning. At 11:20 am, motorists heading northbound on the Pinellas County side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge descended from the center span in sunshine and unlimited visibility into a patch of dense fog near sea level. A chain reaction of vehicle accidents occurred on the northbound lane followed by a similar chain reaction of accidents by rubber-neckers in the southbound lane. In total, fifty-four vehicles were involved in the fog-related accident. Of the fifty-four vehicles, 38 were automobiles, 11 were pick-up trucks, and 5 were semi-tractor trailer trucks. One 69-year-old female fatality occurred when her vehicle was crushed between a car carrier and a flatbed truck. Thirty persons were injured in the mishap.
Here some national pat weather events…..
· December 20, 1836 -- A famous cold wave occurred in central Illinois. A cold front with 70 mph winds swept through at Noon dropping the temperature from 40 degrees to near zero in a matter of minutes. Many settlers froze to death. Folklore told of chickens frozen in their tracks and men frozen to saddles. Ice in streams reportedly froze to six inches in a few hours.
· December 20, 1987 -- Heavy snow fell in the northern mountains of Colorado, with 15 inches reported in the Mary Jane ski area. Strong and gusty winds prevailed from the Northern High Plains to the Great Lakes. Winds gusted to 54 mph at Buffalo N,Y., and reached 66 mph at Livingston Montana. Rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow fell across New England, with up to seven inches of snow in Maine.
· December 21, 1892 -- Portland Ore. was buried under a record 27.5 inches of snow. (21st-24th)
· December 21, 1988 -- Seven cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Charleston S.C. with a reading of 78 degrees. A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced 22 inches of snow at Idaho City Idaho in two days, and up to two feet of snow at Happy Camp Calif.. Ski resorts in Idaho reported three to six feet of snow on the ground.
· December 22, 1839 -- The second of triple December storms hit the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 25 inches of snow at Gettysburg Pa, and gales in New England, but only produced light snow along the coast.
· December 22, 1989 -- A total of 137 cities across the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Thirty-five of those cities established record lows for the month of December. Morning lows of 23 degrees below zero at Kansas City Mo, 26 degrees below zero at Concordia Kan., and 27 degrees below zero at Goodland Kan. established all-time records for those three locations. Unofficial morning lows included 50 degrees below zero at Recluse Wyoming and 60 degrees below zero at Rochford S.D.. Broadus Mont. and Hardin Mont. tied for honors as the official cold spot in the nation with morning lows of 47 degrees below zero. Chinook winds at Cutbank Mont. helped warm the temperature 74 degrees, from a morning low of 34 degrees below zero to an afternoon high of 40 degrees.
· December 25, 1966 -- A white Christmas was enjoyed by residents from North Carolina to New England in the wake of a major snowstorm. Even coastal Virginia was white.
· December 25, 1980 -- It was the coldest Christmas Day of modern record in the northeastern U.S. Temperatures as cold as 36 degrees below zero were reported in New York State, and as the sharp cold front swept southeastward the temperature at Boston MA plunged from 34 degrees to seven degrees below zero during the day.
· December 25, 1983 -- It was the coldest Christmas Day of modern record for the central and eastern U.S. More than 125 cities reported record low temperatures for the date, and thirty-four of those cities reported all-time records for the month of December. The temperature plunged to one degree below zero at Huntsville Ala., and dipped to 14 degrees at Galveston Texas. Snow covered the ground from the Pacific Northwest through much of the Great Plains Region to the Northern Appalachains.
· December 25, 1987 -- Residents of Tucson Ariz. awoke to a white Christmas for the first time in forty-seven years of records, as a winter storm blanketed the area with up to four inches of snow. While heavy rain inundated Arkansas, freezing rain was reported from northwest Texas to southwestern Missouri, with an inch of ice reported at Harrison Ark.. Unseasonably mild weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Seven cities reported record high temperatures for the date. For the second day in a row McAllen Texas was the hot spot in the nation with an afternoon high of 91 degrees.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish
all my readers a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season! Be safe and
enjoy the holiday, I will see you all next week.
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, for the latest in severe weather updates and now winter weather updates from your hometown go to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM! You can also join me for a free cup of coffee and a free copy of The Hometown News at the Stuart K Mart garden center every Saturday morning!