Hi everybody and welcome! I hope everybody enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Not only does Thanksgiving give us a day to spend and reflect with our family and friends, it also marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The weather for the shopping week looks to be pleasant with temps in the 70”s most days with only a slight chance of showers.
The weather for the Thanksgiving holiday was great and the temperatures were pleasantly mild. The high temperature was 79.3 and the low reached 58.5 at 6:30 am. The average mean temperature was 68.8. There was no precipitation recorded.
November 30, 2003 marks the end of another Atlantic Basin hurricane season. Although the year was very active, no storms made land fall in our immediate area. Some other areas were not as fortunate.
Hurricane Claudette formed from a tropical wave in the central Caribbean Sea on July 8th and moved over the Yucatan Peninsula as a 60-mph tropical storm. Claudette then moved into the Gulf of Mexico and slowly intensified as it approached the Texas coast. The storm made landfall at Port O’Connor Texas on July 15t as a 90-mph hurricane. At least three deaths are connected with the storm.
Hurricane Fabian formed in the eastern Atlantic on August 27th and reached its peak intensity on September 1st of 145 mph. Fabian remained a major hurricane for several days. The storm steered well north of the Leeward Islands but made a direct beeline to Bermuda on September 5th. Fabian hit with 115-mph winds and caused extensive damage. The storm caused nearly 300 million U.S. dollars in damage. The storm took 8 lives on the tiny island.
Henri, although only a tropical storm, moved slowly over north-central Florida dumping nearly 10 inches of rain on the area.
Long-lived and long remembered hurricane Isabel started as a westward moving tropical depression on September 6th. The storm gained hurricane status on September 7th. The storm then began a west-northwest course. The storm became a major hurricane on September 8th. On September 11 Isabel became a category 5 hurricane. The highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Isabel was now on a mainly westerly course and posed a possible threat to the east coast of Florida. Isabel remained a dangerous category 5 storm until September 15th. Isabel then made the long awaited northwest turn to take it away from our coast. The storm then hit the North Carolina coast near Drum Point as a weakened category 2 hurricane on September 18th. Isabel caused extensive tidal flooding along the Carolina and Virginia coast.
Here is a brief recap of the 2003 hurricane season…
1 Ana April 21-24 Max winds 45 mph
2 TD 2 June 10-11 Max winds 35 mph
3 Bill June 29-July 1 Max winds 60 mph
4 Claudette July 8-17 Max winds 90 mph
5 Danny July 16-20 Max winds 75 mph
6 TD Six July 19-21 Max winds 35 mph
7 TD 7 July 25-27 Max winds 35 mph
8 Erika August 14-17 Max winds 70 mph
9 TD 9 August 21-22 Max winds 35 mph
10 Fabian Aug. 27-Sept. 8 Max winds 145 mph
11 Grace August 30-31 Max winds 40 mph
12 Henri September 3-8 Max winds 60 mph
13 Isabel September 6-19 Max winds 160 mph
14 TD 14 September 8-10 Max winds 35 mph
15 Juan September 25-29Max winds 105 mph
16 Kate Sept. 25-Oct. 7 Max winds 25 mph
17 Larry October 1-6 Max winds 60 mph
18 Mindy October 10-14 Max winds 45 mph
Now, on to the Time Capsule….
December 5, l977 -- Putnam Co. -- A tornado touched down in Palatka and moved across the St. Johns River. A fisherman in a small boat was drowned. One man was seriously injured when a marina collapsed on him.
December 6, l969 -- early afternoon -- Franklin Co., Apalachicola -- Thunderstorm Winds up to 40 mph sank boats and damaged wharf.
December 7, 1992 -- Monroe Co., Key West -- A waterspout was sighted south of the Boca Chica Naval Air Station.
December 7, 1996 -- Hillsborough, Riverview -- A short-lived but strong (F2) tornado touched down just east of I-75 near Riverview, tracking across the Cowley Cove Mobile Home Complex where it completely destroyed 3 mobile homes and damaged 6 others. One human fatality, a fifty year-old male, (and three dogs) occurred when the occupants unanchored mobile home was lifted up by tornadic winds and tossed nearly 100' from it's foundation into a neighbor's yard wher it disintegrated on impact. At least 5-parked cars were damaged by the tornado along with several sheds and outbuildings. Of note: a parked undrivable vehicle that was in the direct path of the tornado had most of it's contents sucked from the hatchback storage compartment, including a removed 100 lb transmission. Inspection of the vehicle found that the hatchback skin was buckled, bowed and pushed outward from the inside of the vehicle by the transmission casing that eventually smashed upward and out through the rear hatchback window.
December 8, l987 -- Dade Co., Miami -- Strong thunderstorm winds downed trees in a citrus grove.
December 9, l978 -- Bay Co., Mexico Beach -- A waterspout/tornado came ashore and damaged several mobile homes in the beach area.
December l0, l894 -- Holmes Co., Westville -- Tornado destroyed several homes, killing one person, and injuring several people seriously.
December 10, 1967 -- morning -- panhandle -- Tornado Outbreak. -- A tornado struck Ft. Walton Beach and Ocean City in Okaloosa Co. destroying thirty-five homes and nine businesses. A three-year-old girl was killed and about 40 persons were treated at local hospitals. Twenty-three businesses, and 290 homes were damaged to varying degrees. In Walton County a tornado destroyed l home and damaged several others. There was heavy damage to timber in the area. -- A small tornado struck Washington County between Caryville and Bonifay and traveled northeast into Holmes Co. Two homes were destroyed. Other damage consisted mainly of uprooted trees, damaged farm buildings, and downed power lines. -- A tornado touched down briefly in the Capehart Housing area at Tyndall AFB and again across the Bay in Parker and Callaway. One fatality occurred at Tyndall AFB, as did most of the severe damage. Thirty-four people were treated at the hospital. 39 homes at Tyndall were destroyed. Thirty suffered lesser damage. -- In Calhoun Co., a tornado destroyed four farmhouses and several barns in the rural area between Blountstown and Altha.
December 11, l988 -- Pinellas Co., Treasure Island -- A tornado damaged the roofs of l5 homes with seven receiving major damage. In St. Petersburg high wind damaged the windows of two houses and flipped over a boat in a backyard.
December 12-13, 1934 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 20 degrees reported in Tallahassee, 16 at Gainesville, 22 at Orlando, 20 at Ocala and 21 at Avon Park.
December 12-13, 1957 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 20 degrees reported in Tallahassee, 16 at Gainesville, 24 at Orlando, 22 at Bartow and 24 at Avon Park.
December 12, l969 -- Bradford Co., Starke -- A 42 yr. old lineman was injured by lightning while working in a rainstorm.
December 13-14, 1962 -- Statewide -- Severe Cold Outbreak caused by a huge arctic high brought all-time record lows for December to over 3-dozen cities. Lows ranged from the single digit and teens in north Florida to the 20s central and low 30s south. Lows reached 5 degrees in DeFuniak Springs, 30 in Fort Lauderdale, 22 in Melbourne, 27 in Naples, 12 in Gainesville, 22 in St. Petersburg, and 29 in Hollywood.
December 13, l984 -- Santa Rosa Co., Milton -- Tornado damaged six houses and destroyed four mobile homes.