Hi everybody and welcome! With Valentine’s Day upon us, it still is not too late to get that special someone in your life that last minute gift to show them how much you care. Need some ideas? Cut flowers are always a great choice. Container roses also make excellent gifts and cost considerably less then cut flowers. Sending or giving balloon bouquets is getting to be really popular and is a great choice. Jewelry items almost always make a big hit with your honey on Valentine’s Day. And remember, car stereos and other electronic gadgets make great gifts too. If your planning on possibly a marriage in the near future, what could be more romantic then asking him\her on Valentine’s Day! It will be a day you both will never forget.
It was exactly 4 years ago that I asked my lovely wife Carol to marry me. She did say yes and the rest is history. Since it was the first time I ever asked anybody the big question, I was extremely nervous about asking her but at the same token it was a day I will never forget. You can see that February 14 is a very special day for us! I would like to take this opportunity to wish my special wife, Carol, a Happy Valentine’s Day.
With all the cold dry air we have been seeing over the last several weeks, the vegetation and ground have been getting drier by the day. With not a lot of rain in sight, the stage is being set for a high wild fire danger this spring. As of this writing, the draught index for Martin County was 392 on a scale of 0-800. The higher the number the drier the conditions. The draught index for St. Lucie County was considerably lower at 306. The draught index increases every day that we go without rain. If we receive measurable precipitation the index will decrease. A prolonged high index reading can cause a high wildfire danger by making more fuel available for combustion. A reading over 500 can rival conditions that are dessert-like. A high draught index by itself does not necessarily indicate a high wildfire danger. There are many other factors that have to come into place such as dew point, wind, and air temperature. During the coming months if you live in a highly wooded area it is a good idea to stay informed on the latest fire weather forecasts.
Now, on to the Time Capsule….
February 14, l970 -- Palm Beach Co., Palm Beach Gardens -- A small tornado struck an isolated area and downed power lines.
February 15, l939 -- Polk Co. -- A tornado, reported as a "huge black funnel", moved into Bartow and destroyed a small home.
February 15, l991 -- St. Johns Co., St. Augustine -- Strong winds to 60 mph downed power lines, trees, sheds, signs, roofs. The winds whipped up at least l50 brush fires in various sections of the state. The winds capsized an l8 ft boat, drowning two men.
February 16, l983 -- Broward Co., Miramar -- Thunderstorm winds downed large trees, power lines, and caused roof damage.
February 17, l992 -- Gulf County, Apalachicola -- A small tornado lifted a car with three occupants up and slammed it down on the road several times. It blew the hatchback door up on the roof of the car. The tornado also uprooted trees and damaged two houses.
February 18, 1958 -- Statewide -- Cold Outbreak -- Arctic high pressure behind a strong cold front brought record cold and second major freeze of month to much of the state. Temperatures dipped to the teens in north Florida, twenties central, and low 30s south.
February l8, l960 -- Bay Co., Panama City -- A tornado destroyed three homes and damaged 35 others.
February 18, l994 -- All Day -- Florida East Coast -- Onshore winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph caused beach erosion and minor coastal flooding. Hardest hit was the coast from Brevard to Palm Beach Co. where some beachfront homes were nearly undermined.
February 19, l963 -- central Florida -- Pinellas, Polk, Orange, Seminole, Hillsborough, Lake and Brevard Counties -- thunderstorm winds caused damage to buildings, parked aircraft, and some construction equipment. Wind gust blew small car from Sunshine Skyway into the Gulf and the driver drowned. Several small tornadoes touched down briefly in Central Florida causing minor damage.
February 19, l968 -- Dade Co. -- A tornado moved into North Miami, cutting a block wide path into Biscayne Bay. Two homes were destroyed, l2 were unroofed. Over l00 homes, 44 business, and l00 cars were damaged. 2l injuries, mostly from flying glass.
February l9, l974 -- Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco Counties -- Tornado destroyed or damaged about l00 trailers and unroofed a frame home. 55 people were injured.
February 20, l952 -- Bay Co., -- Tornado destroyed a home near Panama City and damaged 12 others, injuring four.
February 20, l989 -- Okaloosa Co., Ft. Walton Beach -- A hailstorm dumped golf ball size hail and 3 - 6 inches of rain in three hours. The storm contributed to the crash of an AF Cl4lB jet at Eglin AFB that killed all on board.
February 20, 1995 -- Martin Co., Port Salerno --A man drowned in St. Lucie Inlet after being washed overboard by a large wave generated by thunderstorm winds.
February 21, l937 -- Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties -- Tornado skipped through Tampa and unroofed three homes. A home destroyed between Odessa and Lutz, other homes in San Antonio damaged.
February 21 1989 -- Midnight -- Okaloosa Co., Dorcas -- A family of four narrowly escaped injuries when a tornado destroyed their mobile home, uprooted trees, blew a small boat across Mirror.
Now here are some National Past Weather Events…
February 15, 1895 -- A big Gulf snowstorm produced six inches at Brownsville Texas and Mobile Ala., 15 inches at Galveston Texas, and 24 inches of snow at Rayne Louisiana in 24 hours. Snow fell at the very mouth of the Mississippi River. Houston Texas received 22 inches of snow, and nine inches blanketed New Orleans Louisiana.
February 15, 1936 -- The temperature at Parshall N.D. plunged to 60 degrees below zero to establish a state record. On the 6th of July that same year the temperature at Steele N.D. hit 121 degrees, also a state record.
February 15, 1987 -- A storm crossing the central U.S. produced severe thunderstorms, which spawned tornadoes in Louisiana and Mississippi. Tornadoes injured four persons at Pierre Pass LA; three persons at Tangipahoa Louisiana, two persons at Lexie Miss. and two persons at Nicholson Miss. Thunderstorm winds gusting to 100 mph killed one person south of Sulphur Louisiana. Jackson Miss. was drenched with 1.5 inches of rain in ten minutes.
February 15, 1989 -- Thirty-seven cities in the southeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 80 degrees at Atlanta Ga. was a February record. Highs of 79 degrees at Chattanooga Tenn., 84 degrees at Columbia S.C. and 85 degrees at New Orleans Louisiana equaled February records.
February 16, 1987 -- A winter storm produced snow and ice in the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian Region. Snowfall totals in Virginia ranged up to 14 inches around Farmville, while Granville N.C. reported eight inches of sleet and ice. Freezing rain in eastern North Carolina caused extensive damage to power lines. Gales lashed the coast of Virginia and North Carolina.
February 16, 1989 -- A surge of arctic air produced all-time record high barometric pressure readings of 31.08 inches at Duluth Minn., 30.97 inches at Chicago Ill. and 30.94 inches at South Bend Ind. Readings of 31.00 inches at Milwaukee Wis. and 30.98 inches at Rockford Ill. tied their all-time records. Unseasonably warm weather prevailed across the southeastern U.S. Highs of 81 degrees at Athens Georgia, 87 degrees at Charleston S.C., 85 degrees at Macon Georgia, and 86 degrees at Savannah Georgia were records for February.
February 18, 1990 -- An intense but slow moving Pacific storm worked its way across Utah over a two-day period. The storm blanketed the valleys with 4 to 12 inches of snow, and produced up to 42 inches of snow in the mountains. Heavy snow also fell across northern Arizona. Williams received 22 inches of snow, and 12 inches was reported along the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
February 19, 1987 -- A winter storm over the southern and central Rockies produced 28 inches of snow at Echo Lake Colo., and two feet of snow at Gascon N.M. and Los Alamos N.M. Mora County N.M. was declared a disaster area following the storm.
February 19, 1990 -- A moist Pacific storm worked its way into New Mexico and southern Colorado. Up to 36 inches of snow blanketed the Wolf Creek and Red Mountain passes of southwest Colorado, and up to 15 inches of snow was reported around Trinidad. In New Mexico, the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were blanketed with 9 to 28 inches of snow, and 50 to 60 mph wind gusts were reported from Taos to Albuquerque.
February20, 1805 -- The Potomac River was opened after being closed by ice for a period of two months.
February 20, 1988 -- Snow and strong northerly winds ushered arctic air into the Great Lakes Region. The temperature at Sault Ste Marie Mich. plunged from 30 degrees at 5 AM to one below zero by 3 PM, with a wind chill reading of 40 degrees below zero. Five cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 90 degrees at Lakeland was just a degree shy of their February record.
That’s it for this week’s Time Capsule, I hope you enjoy it. If you have any weather questions or want me to cover a certain topic in the column, please e-mail me at JOESDISCOWEATHER@AOL.COM. As always for the latest in severe and winter weather updates go to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM! You can also join me every Saturday morning for a free cup of coffee and a free copy of the Hometown News at the Stuart K Mart Garden Center!