January 23, 2004 Weather Column

 

            Hi everybody and welcome!! I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad I live in Florida. For the second week in a row I have been watching the temperatures in the northeast part of the country drop to record lows. In many areas the temperatures were downright dangerous. For example, In New York City the temperature dropped to a low of –2 with a wind chill value of  -10 degrees. In Boston, the temperature dropped to –6 with wind chills in the –20 degree range. Portland Maine reported a low of –17 degrees with a wind chill value of –30. Pittsburgh reported a low of 4 degrees with a wind chill of –10. All temperatures were recorded on January 16th.

            In contrast to the very low temperatures up north, our weather has been very pleasant. With mild days and cool nights with no precipitation. Our average mean temperature has been right around 60 which is very pleasant indeed. The average mean temperature is an average of the high and low temperature of the day. The average mean temperature for last year was slightly cooler for the period and was 55 degrees. We should be receiving some much-needed precipitation this weekend, January 18th. We will see how it pans out. Right now the rain chance stands at 70%.

            I think one of the most memorable storms for me was the 1993 Storm Of The Century. I remember this storm as it occurred when we were setting up the K Mart in Martin Square mall. I remember the parking lot being flooded all the way up to the store. The winds were so strong that the doors to the store were almost staying open on their own.

 The storm was born on March 12, 1993 and affected almost the entire east coast of the U.S. The storm started in the Gulf of Mexico and rapidly intensified as it moved slowly to the northeast. The storm initially made landfall in northwestern Florida. An intense squall line preceded a rapidly moving cold front as it raced across Florida. The storm produced torrential rainfall and high wind gusts. The storm also produced 11 confirmed tornadoes. The storm also produced heavy snows extending from Alabama to New York. An intense pressure gradient developed as a result of the storm and produced very high wind gusts all along the East Coast. More then a foot of snow fell from Alabama to Maine. A total of 270 people lost their lives during the storm and property damages were over 3 billion.

Some record recorded wind gusts were made during this storm. Mount Washington, New Hampshire, recorded a peak wind of 144 mph. Franklin County, Florida, recorded a wind gust of 110 mph while Dry Tortugas saw a gust near 109 mph. Some record low temperatures also were set. Burlington, Vermont recorded a low of –12 degrees while Ashville, North Carolina saw a low of 2 degrees.

All in the entire storm affected twenty-six states and over 100 million people. Wow! Hopefully we won’t see a repeat performance of this any time soon.

Now on to the Time Capsule….

 

January 23, 1956 -- afternoon-evening -- north and central Florida -- Severe Thunderstorm winds knocked down many trees, some landed on cars and buildings. A tree uprooted on a car injured one person. Two other people were injured by lightning.

January 24, l948 -- Manatee Co. -- A tornado unroofed homes on Anna Maria Key and a packinghouse on the mainland.

January 24, 1979 -- Early Morning -- Tornado outbreak in central Florida. Six tornadoes struck from near Palatka to Venice as a strong, fast-moving cold front swept across central Florida. Widespread minor property damage, but only one injury reported in a mobile home in Desoto Co.

 January 24, l993 -- Gulf Co., Port St. Joe -- A small tornado touched down in an open field, then overturned a mobile home. Two people in the mobile home suffered cuts and bruises.

January 25-29, 1940 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 14 degrees at Gainesville, 15 at Ocala, 21 at Avon Park, and 20 at Bartow reported.

January 25, l975 -- Suwannee Co. A small tornado unroofed a service station in Branford and moved on to Wellborn, where more roof damage occurred.

January 26-27, 1905 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 17 degrees reported at Tallahassee, 16 at Gainesville, 17 at Ocala, 21 at Orlando, and 22 at Avon Park.

January 27-28, 1986 -- Statewide -- A cold outbreak over Florida was preceded by strong, gusty winds on the 27th. A three-year-old girl was killed on I-95 near Palm Beach Gardens when the wind broke loose a sign and hurled it into the car on the 27th. Temperatures dipped into the 20s over much of north and central Florida on the morning of the 28th. Melbourne and Orlando reported 26 degrees and Daytona Beach 22. Space Shuttle "Challenger" exploded on the morning of the 28th.

January 28, 1973 -- Afternoon -- Central Florida -- Tornadoes touched down in Polk, Orange, Osceola, and Brevard Counties. In Orlando hundreds were left homeless and 16 people were injured by a tornado crossing the southwest side of the city. Another tornado ripped off the beacon tower at the Titusville Airport and damaged many signs. A tornado near Dade City injured a man in a mobile home. Another Tornado struck the Ixora Park area of Northwest Osceola Co. damaging 300 homes injuring seven people.

January 29, l983 -- Bay Co., Panama City Beach -- a waterspout/tornado moved onshore traveling 3/4 mile and demolishing 47 mobile homes, overturning 25 boats, damaging roofs, and downing power lines. No serious injuries.

January 30, 1974 -- Gadsden Co., Hinson-Concord -- A tornado touched down near Hinson and as it moved toward Concord, it uprooted trees, then destroyed a summer home and large double mobile home before finally damaging the Concordia Baptist Church in Concord. There were three injuries and l death.

January 31, l953 -- Lake City --Hail - Heavy hail damaged tobacco beds and was a traffic hazard on U. S. Highway 4l for some time.

January 31, l966 -- Statewide -- Cold Outbreak. Arctic high pressure behind a strong cold front brought record cold to much of Florida on 30th and 3lst. Record lows were set at dozens of locations, including 11 at Tallahassee, l7 degrees at Gainesville, 22 at Ocala, 24 at Orlando, 29 at St. Petersburg, 8 at Defuniak Springs, 9 at Chipley and Quincy, and 21 at Palatka. This January freeze is exceeded only by the great freeze of l977 in extent and intensity.

            Now here are some National Weather events…

January 23, 1780 -- The coldest day of the coldest month of record in the northeastern U.S. A British Army thermometer in New York City registered a reading of 16 degrees below zero. During that infamous hard winter the harbor was frozen solid for five weeks, and the port was cut off from sea supply.

January 24, 1987 -- Temperatures in Minnesota plunged far below the zero mark. International Falls Minnesota reported a morning low of 35 degrees below zero, and Warroad Minnesota was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 45 below zero. A storm developing in northeastern Texas produced severe thunderstorms with large hail in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Camden, Arizona reported golf ball size hail.

January 27, 1772 -- The "Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" occurred. George Washington reported three feet of snow at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson recorded about three feet at Monticello.

January 29, 1990 -- Severe thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. spawned a tornado which destroyed three mobile homes near Blythe Georgia injuring six persons. A fast moving cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds along the coast of Oregon gusted to 65 mph at Portland, and high winds generated 22 to 26 foot seas which battered the coast. Winds near Reno Nevada gusted to 78 mph. High winds also buffeted the Central High Plains, with gusts to 94 mph reported at La Mesa Colorado.

January 30, 1990 -- A major winter storm produced heavy snow from Indiana to New England. It was the biggest storm in two and a half years for eastern New York State. Snowfall totals in the mountains of Maine ranged up to 20 inches at Guilford and Lovell. Other heavy snowfall totals included 17 inches at Utica NY, and 19 inches at Bethel VT, Ludlow VT, and New London NH. The storm claimed three lives in eastern New York State, and four lives in Vermont.