Hi everybody and welcome! The week in weather has been all in all fairly pleasant and quiet with the exception of last Tuesday when a tornado touched down near Hobe Sound. Although the tornado was only rated an F-0 on the Fujita tornado scale, the storm was a grim reminder of how suddenly Mother Nature can strike. With the spring severe weather season coming upon us, it is imperative that we all have an emergency disaster plan in place. Tornados in Florida are usually very short lived and not usually very large however, if they strike in a heavily populated area, the results can be devastating. Being able to know when and where the tornado may hit in ample time to take cover is imperative. Most all media sources cover these weather events very well, but we sometimes we don’t have our radio or TV turned on. Sometimes the warnings come during the night while we are sleeping.
Many Internet sites offer real-time watches and warnings along with forecast products. Commercial sites such as WEATHER.COM and ACCUWEATHER.COM have pages that include this information for any state in the U.S. I also have a web page on my own web site that includes real-time watches and warnings for the entire Treasure Coast along with the latest forecasts and current radar. Just go to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM and click on the Treasure Coast Weather and Information link and you will have most any local forecast product you could ever need.
There is only one way to ensure that you and your family are protected and that is with a NOAA weather radio. My goal is to see that these inexpensive devices are as common in households as computers and TV’s. I personally own five and have at least three of them turned on at all times. I also have two portable radios that I use when I am in the car or shopping.
The radios also offer warnings that are not related to weather such as chemical spills, accidents at the nuclear power plant and even acts of terrorism. The newer radios even offer S.A.M.E. technology, which is simply the ability to only receive warnings in the county where you reside. This reduces the annoyance of getting warnings from several counties away from you.
Weather radios are available at most consumer electronic stores and are readily available online and at Radio Shack stores.
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 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.