Hi everybody and welcome! I hope you are enjoying the wonderful weather we have been having the past week. The pleasantly cool nighttime temperatures and relatively mild days. So far the coldest night this past week was on Friday where the temperature dropped to a chilly 38 degrees at my weather station. I also had a fairly heavy frost. When I left for work on Saturday morning, the temperature had risen to around 40 degrees. By the time I reached Stuart, the temperature was a much milder 47 degrees. This was partly due to the fact that U.S. 1 lies much closer to the ocean then the location of my weather station in Port St. Lucie. The warm ocean waters often keep temperatures near the coast much warmer then temperatures farther inland.
I often have a lot of people asking me about my weather station and what type of equipment I have and about it’s location. Well, to answer the first question, I have two separate weather stations mounted at different locations around the property. One station is a wireless system that uses radio waves to transmit the information to the receiver. All the sensors are solar powered with a backup battery in case of several cloudy days or during a major storm. The anemometer, or wind sensor, is mounted about 30 feet in the air about 15 feet above the roofline. The temperature sensors are mounted about 12 feet above ground level and are protected by thermal radiation shields to be sure of absolute accuracy. The second weather station is a more conventional wired system that also has a battery backup in case of a power outage or in the event of a hurricane. Each weather station has it’s own designated computer to constantly gather information and transform that information into climatologic reports that I use on both my Website and this column. All this information is then backed up on 3 separate external hard drives so that the information remains safe. Currently, I have about 5 years of digital data and another additional 3 years of hand-written data. The weather station is located in Port St. Lucie, nestled between I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike near St. Lucie West.
Now, on to the Time Capsule….
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.
February 1 – 2, l983 -- All of Florida -- One of the most widespread outbreaks of Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes in Florida history. - Unusual El Nino conditions resulted in a 180-mph jet stream in the central Gulf of Mexico that strengthened a line of thunderstorms moving eastward into the western Florida Panhandle before dawn February l and continued southeastward through the entire state, exiting the southeast coast and Keys around sunset February 2. At least 21 Tornadoes occurred, along with severe thunderstorm downbursts, hail, and heavy rains. Four people were killed along with several serious injuries requiring hospitalization, and about 200 people were left homeless.
February 1, l983 -- Western Panhandle to Tallahassee area -- Seven tornadoes touched down during the day killing l and injuring one. Escambia County, near Pensacola - a tornado damaged trees, power lines, traffic lights, support poles, and roofs. One person was killed by a live wire that wrapped around a tree that had blown into his home.
February 2, 1952 -- Dade Co., Miami & Miami Beach -- Thunderstorms from a tropical storm crossing south Florida brought 84-mph winds to Miami Beach. Winds of tropical storm force were recorded at Miami International Airport.
February 2-3, 1952 --South Florida -- The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida producing 60 mph winds and two to four inches of rain.
February 2, l983 -- early morning through afternoon -- Florida Peninsula -- Fourteen tornadoes and l4 severe thunderstorms were reported across the Florida Peninsula, killing three and injuring 3l. -- Alachua Co., Hawthorne -- thunderstorm winds collapsed a prefab home, killing one person. A church was demolished and several homes damaged. Other downbursts struck Gainesville and Waldo. Orange Co -- Tornado destroyed two homes in north Orlando and eight apartment units in southeast Orlando injuring nine people - 56 other apartments were damaged. -- Highland Co., DeSoto City -- A tornado destroyed l5 mobile homes and damaged several other homes and mobile homes. One person died of a broken neck when a mobile home overturned. -- Dade Co., Miami Beach -- Heavy rains and wind downed power lines. An elderly woman was electrocuted by a wire downed by wind.
February 2, 1996 -- Putnam Co., Bostwick -- A man was killed when an F0 tornado caused a tree to fall on his porch. Trees and power lines also blocked SR-100.
February 3-4, 1917 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 15 degrees reported at Tallahassee, 17 at Gainesville, 18 at Ocala, and 22 at Orlando.
February 3, l926 -- Palm Beach Co. - Tornado moved from Lake Worth to Palm Beach damaging 83 homes. An eleven-month old boy was killed.
February 3-5, 1963 -- northeast Coast -- Continuous strong northeast winds produced by a low-pressure area east of the Florida coast generated high tides, rough surf and coastal flooding along entire northeast Florida coast from Nassau to Brevard Counties. Beaches sustained considerable erosion damage and some beach properties and roads were undermined. Damage was greater than expected, as beaches had not been repaired from damages inflicted by a smaller storm in December l962. Property damage was confined to the beach areas, as winds inland were not sufficiently strong to cause other than minor property damage.
February 3, 1970 -- morning -- Central Florida -- Severe Weather Outbreak -- eight tornadoes and five other severe thunderstorms were spawned ahead of a strong cold front. No serious injuries.
February 4-5, 1958 -- Statewide -- Cold Outbreak -- Arctic high pressure behind a strong cold front brought record cold too much of Florida. Freezing temperatures spread to south Florida. Lows reach 27 at Homestead, 28 at Belle Glade, 31 at Fort Lauderdale and 33 at Hialeah. Snow fell in Tallahassee.
February 5, l992 -- Brevard, Citrus, Hillsborough, Levy, Marion, Orange, Pasco Counties -- A squall line with severe thunderstorm winds and hail swept across central Florida in early morning hours causing widespread minor property damage, but no serious injuries.
February 5, 1996 -- West Central and South Florida peninsula --
Extreme Cold/Severe Freeze -- The coldest temperatures since the
"Christmas freeze" of 1989 caused significant loss of winter fresh
fruits and vegetables. Crop damage was estimated at $109
million dollars. Strong winds caused wind chill values in the teens, and
disrupted electrical service to over 20,000 customers.
Shelters were opened in several counties. At least one space heater initiated
fire occurred.
February 6, l9l4 -- Santa Rosa/Okaloosa Counties -- Tornado struck between Milton and Laurel Hill, destroying barns, killing livestock and uprooting thousands of trees.
February 6 l975 -- Lafayette Co., Mayo -- Tornado destroyed homes, businesses, and trailers, injuring four. Tornadoes touched down in Citrus, Sumter, and Lake Counties damaging mobile homes and citrus trees. Five injuries in mobile homes.
February 7-10, 1835 -- The earliest well-documented severe freeze. Low temperature of 4 degrees was reported at Tallahassee, 8 degrees at Jacksonville and Pensacola. The edges of the St. Johns River froze and ice was reported in Pensacola Bay. The temperature was below freezing for over two days at St. Augustine. All citrus was killed.
February 7-8, l97l -- Statewide -- Severe squall lines ahead of a strong cold front ripped through Florida causing heavy rain of three to 5", several tornadoes, many reports of hail and funnel clouds, and wind gusts of 50 to 65 mph. Hardest hit was the community of Gulf Breeze in Escambia Co. where a predawn waterspout on the 7th came ashore as a tornado, destroying an apartment complex and injuring 112 people. Two more people were injured on the morning of the 7th when severe thunderstorm winds and golf ball size hail hit near Chipley in Washington County. In Tallahassee one man drowned when he fell into a drainage ditch. Another man drowned when his boat capsized while fishing in Highlands County.