Hello everybody and Welcome! This week I experienced first hand what Mother Nature can dish out. Monday, March 17, started out as any typical day would. You know, the normal routine of going to work and getting home around six. The weather that day was not all that bad. There only were some scattered thunderstorms but nothing severe in nature. Upon arriving home, the first thing I usually check is my main weather station. At first glance, I noticed a blank screen. I figured I would just have to reset the weather station and that would be it. The next thing I checked was the laptop connected to the weather station. Again, dead as a doornail. At this point I knew we had problems. I then checked station number 2 with the same result, a dead display. This was the case for all three of our computers and both weather stations. I realized that we had been hit by lightning. Fortunately there was no structural damage. I was able to get all 3 computers back in service but the weather stations were completely toasted. I did loose about three days worth of weather data but it could have been much worse since I do daily backups. It goes to show you don’t need a severe thunderstorm to have lightning damage.
I cannot emphasize enough about lightning safety and protecting your electronic valuables. Always use a good surge protector on all your delicate electronics. Had I not used good quality surge protectors on my computers, I believe they would have been rendered useless. Always shop for a surge protector with the highest Joule rating you can find. Most of mine are in the 600 – 800 Joule range. The Joule rating is the ability of the surge strip to absorb electrical spikes going to your equipment. I would not recommend any strips with a Joule rating less then 400. You can usually find this information on the package.
If your home has any high masts supporting antennas or whatever, be sure they are grounded properly. Use a separate ground stake for each mast. Do not use the ground for the telephone or electric to ground your antenna. Also be sure to use a heavyweight grounding cable.
If you follow these safety precautions and use common sense, you may be able to avert the possible toasting of your valuable electronics.
Now, on to the Time Capsule………
March 28, 1955 --One inch of snow fell in northwest Florida. This is the latest date of measurable snow on record.
March 28 - 3l, l972 -- Statewide -- Extended Severe Weather - A series of squall lines starting on the 28th preceded a cold frontal passage on the 3lst. Thunderstorms with high winds, hail, heavy rains, and tornadoes were reported. Damage totals were in the millions. Rainfall averaged 2" to 4" during this time, with many individual stations reporting over 5". Details are reported below.
March 28, l972 -- afternoon -- Panhandle/northwest Florida - Severe Weather Outbreak - A severe squall line spawned eight tornadoes and many severe thunderstorms as it moved across north Florida. Tornadoes were reported in Altha, Milton, Tallahassee, Starke, near St. Augustine, and at Keystone Heights in Clay Co. 20 people were injured in Gainesville when thunderstorm winds collapsed a circus tent. Lightning injured several people and started several fires.
March 29, l972 -- Afternoon-Evening -- Panhandle/north Florida - Severe Weather hit area for second straight day. Several tornadoes and severe thunderstorms reported from Pensacola and Panama City to Jacksonville. A report of hailstones up to 3 l/2" that did considerable damage in the Freeport, Walton Co. area is the second largest on record for the State of Florida.
March 28-29, l982 -- Martin & Palm Beach Cos. -- Coastal storm - Very heavy rains and high winds struck the Florida Gold Coast around the Palm Beach area. Lantana, a suburb of Palm Beach, measured l6 inches of rain in 24 hours. High seas sunk a Haitian freighter and drowned two people. Two other people were killed because of the storm. Hundreds of homes and cars were flooded. The Lake Worth Pier sustained heavy damage.
March 29, l990 -- north Lake Co. -- Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines. A 72-year-old man drowned while docking his boat in high winds.
March 30, l939 -- Duval Co., Jacksonville -- Deadliest northeast Florida tornado - killed four workers at a turpentine plant. Ten small homes were destroyed. A roof was carried for 2 miles.
March 30, l974 -- Gadsden Co. -- A tornado struck near Hinson uprooting trees, destroying a home, large double mobile home, and damaging the Concordia Church - injuring four. A woman died of injuries several days later.
March 30, l990 -- Duval Co., Jacksonville -- Lightning killed a construction worker on a loading dock roof.
March 30, 1996 -- Afternoon -- evening -- Central Florida -- Severe Weather Outbreak -- Tornadoes were documented in Hernando, Sumter, Lake, Polk, and Brevard counties. In Brevard County, a waterspout /tornado touched down in Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral, tearing out windows and damaging roofs on six homes, destroying a small building on a used car lot, and damaging the roof of a night club and a dive shop. 25 other buildings in the area received minor damage. Windows were blown out of 30 vehicles. Damage estimates were near $500,000. Hail, most the size of baseballs, severely damaged the roofs, knocked out windows in nearly 600 homes, and severely damaged 3,000 vehicles in Lake Wales, Polk County. Softball size hail (4.50-inch) also occurred in Lake Wales, which set a new record as the largest documented hail for the state of Florida. Hail accumulated to a depth of one foot in Bartow. Golf ball size hail (1.75-inch) fell in Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Brevard, Osceola and Martin counties. An 86-mph wind gust at Bartow Municipal Airport caused window and roof damage to the FAA tower, severely damaged roofs and doors of two businesses at the airport, and overturned and demolished five mobile homes on wheels at a mobile home plant on airport property. Winds blew down trees in Chuluota, Seminole County, in Mulberry, Polk County, and damaged a van and injured one person in Ocoee, Orange County. Total property damage was estimated at $28 million dollars, with the storm producing the record size hail causing the majority of the damage at nearly $25 million dollars.
March 31, l93l -- Polk Co., Mulberry -- Tornado damaged or destroyed 20 small homes and unroofed l large home, injuring nine.
March 31, l933 -- Escambia/Santa Rosa Counties -- Tornado moved northeast from Pensacola and destroyed three small homes. Five injuries were in a home thrown into a tree.
March 3l, l939 -- Volusia Co., Daytona Beach -- Tornado unroofed a house injuring three, then moved out to sea.
March 31, l949 -- Okaloosa Co., Niceville -- Tornado destroyed a home, injuring one person, then unroofed another home. Trees were uprooted and twisted off.
March 31, l962 -- Santa Rosa Co. -- Tornado -- one of the deadliest in Florida History, struck northeast of Milton, destroying 75 small homes. Trailers and cars were thrown several l00 ft. About 200 other homes and buildings were damaged. About 80 injuries required treatment. A mother and three young children were killed in their home. At least l0 homes had a single death. Total deaths - l7. Tornadoes were also reported in Okaloosa and Escambia Counties in the morning and Bay County in the afternoon.
March 31, l972 -- afternoon -- Central Florida -- Severe Weather Outbreak. At least l0 tornadoes, and many high wind reports were received as a squall line crossed the Peninsula. Tornadoes were reported in Brooksville, Plymouth, Apopka, Longwood, N. Orlando, Tampa, Allenhurst (Brevard Co.), Kennedy Space Center, Brandon, and Loxahatchee. Pinellas Co. and Tampa were hardest hit with several hundred homes damaged and six injured.
March 31, l994 -- Volusia Co., Ormond Beach -- Strong winds produced rip currents that drowned a boy visiting from Louisiana.
March 31, 1996 -- Afternoon -- early evening -- North central to southeast Florida - Severe weather hit for the second day in a row. A small tornado blew down a few trees on S. R. 60 west of Vero Beach. Baseball to softball size hail was reported near Fellsmere, while dime to golf ball size hail occurred from Levy to Dade County, causing over a quarter million dollars damage to property and crops. Lightning struck and injured a man on Miami Beach. In Levy County, two large pine trees were snapped at the base and downed at Cedar Key.
April 1, l989 -- Polk Co., Lakeland -- Lightning killed a 9-year old boy riding his bicycle.
April 2, l959 -- Morning -- At least three tornadoes touched down in central Florida.--Pasco Co., Dade City -- Tornado destroyed l0 buildings and damaged 28 others, causing 12 injuries - four serious. Sixty other buildings received minor damage. -- Orange Co., Azalea Park -- Tornado destroyed nine homes and damaged 69, injuring 20 people. A woman was killed when thrown from a trailer that was moved l00 yards. Many trees were uprooted. -- Brevard Co., Mims -- Tornado destroyed two homes and damaged seven, injuring one person. The tornado was described as "a fiery cloud with a black stem trailing behind."
April 3, 1941 -- central Florida -- A "great hailstorm" caused more than one million dollars damage (1941 dollars). Sixteen people were also injured in a "windstorm". Most of the damage was to citrus crops in Polk County. This was the most destructive hailstorm in the nation that year.
April 3, l949 -- Bradford Co., Starke -- Tornado destroyed one home and damaged six. One person was injured. Another tornado was reported in Clay County.
April 3, l960 -- Bay Co., Panama City Beach -- Tornado destroyed a small home and garage. The one - room city hall was destroyed and a motel was unroofed. -- Afternoon -- Duval Co., Mandarin -- one person killed by lightning.