Hi everybody and welcome! This past week I have been enjoying a much needed weeks vacation. The weather for the most part was great with just a few showers. Even though I was on vacation I kept myself quite busy with working on our secluded garden and making some changes on my Website. As the summer storm season approaches I strive to provide as much local information as possible during the coming season. You can access my Website at JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM.
Right now, Sunday at around 9:00 pm, I am tracking a line of heavy storms running to the east in a line from around Daytona Beach down to near Avon Park. The storms have already caused .75-inch hail around the Orlando area along with some trees down from high winds. In Flagler County, street flooding and excessive lightning had been reported by trained storm spotters. Flooding and high winds have also been reported in Washington DC and also in Georgia from the same frontal system.
Speaking of spotters, I am looking for weather spotters who live anywhere from Sabastian to Jupiter. If any of our readers have a home weather station and are interested, please contact me at JOESDISCOWEATHER@AOL.COM. Mainly I am looking for weekly high and low temperatures, rainfall totals and high wind gusts. I can then use these reports in my column with the credit being given to the sender.
Now, on to the Time Capsule….
May 9, l987 -- Broward Co., Ft. Lauderdale -- Lightning killed a 23-year old man and a 3l year old man under a tree on the golf course. Two people who did not go under the tree were not injured.
May 9, 1995 -- Broward Co., Lighthouse Point -- A 7-year-old girl was killed when a lightning bolt directly struck her as she played softball in a park. The thunderstorm was about 5 miles northwest of the park when the lightning struck in the midst of 10 children and coaches. The park is surrounded by trees.
May 10, l977 -- evening -- Charlotte Co. -- Thunderstorm winds gusted to 60 mph and 3.25" of rain fell south of Punta Gorda. No significant damage reported.
May 10, 1961 -- afternoon -- Alachua Co. -- Large hail caused considerable damage to tobacco, corn, and watermelons over a large area west of Gainesville.
May 11, l977 -- afternoon -- Broward Co., Miramar -- Lightning killed a l6 year boy cutting the lawn in the rain.
May 11, 1995 -- St. Lucie Co., Ft. Pierce -- A 73-year-old man drowned after being pulled about 100 yards offshore in a rip current.
May12, l974 -- Brevard Co., Cocoa Beach -- Thunderstorm downburst caused minor damage in Cape Kennedy area. Wind gusts to 52 mph were recorded at Patrick AFB and reported to 75 mph by the public.
May13, 1975 -- Broward Co. -- Severe thunderstorm winds lasting 20-30 minutes damaged over 90 of the 600 planes based at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. The FAA tower measured winds gusting to 101 mph. Tied down aircraft were ripped from their moorings. The roof of the terminal was slightly damaged, hail was reported and two inches of rain fell in an hour.
May14, 1955 -- Panama City -- Lightning killed one person and injured three others.
May l4, l974 -- evening -- Dade Co., Miami -- Lightning struck a l3-year-old boy. He died June 28th.
May14, l99l -- Volusia Co., New Smyrna Beach -- Lightning killed a man and injured another while they walked on the beach.
May15, l950 -- Orange Co., McCoy Air Force Base -- A tornado leveled three concrete block buildings at the base. Other tornadoes and windstorms were reported in the Orlando area causing minor damage.
May15, l974 -- Martin Co., Palm City -- A tornado destroyed a boathouse and several boats, unroofed some buildings, including local newspaper office. One man suffered a fractured skull from flying debris.
May16, l975 -- afternoon -- Sumter Co., Wildwood -- Lightning killed a man and injured another while running for shelter.
May16, l983 -- early morning -- Florida Panhandle -- Strong winds and heavy surf - Three people drowned along Panhandle beaches as a cold front with strong winds pushed through the area, bringing rough surf and heavy swells. An l8-year-old student drowned at Panama City Beach; a 53-year-old man drowned at Gulf Islands National Seashore; and a 20-year old man drowned east of Destin. Tallahassee, Leon County -- A tornado struck a warehouse and hanger area at the Tallahassee Municipal Airport, demolishing one hanger. Six people were temporarily trapped inside the hanger when a live fallen power line blocked their escape. The tornado continued along a west to east path, touching down several more times, damaging some mobile homes, and hurling a bus onto a car. Jefferson and Madison Counties -- Thunderstorm winds damaged mobile homes, toppled trees and power lines, and blew an automobile 200 feet down the interstate highway. Baker County -- A tornado demolished several farm buildings about 3 miles south of Sanderson. Light metal roofing was blown over l00 yards.
Now here are some national past weather events…
May 9, 1966 -- Record snows fell
in the northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, including 3.1 inches at
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and 5.4 inches at Youngstown Ohio. Snow also extended
across parts of New York State, with eight inches reported in the southern
Adirondacks.
May 9, 1977 -- A late season
snowstorm hit parts of Pennsylvania, New York State, and southern and central
New England. Heavier snowfall totals included 27 inches at Slide Mountain New
York and 20 inches at Norwalk Connecticut. At Boston it was the first May snow
in 107 years of records. The heavy wet snow caused extensive damage to trees
and power lines. The homes of half a million persons were without power
following the storm. (9th-10th)
May 9, 1988 -- A massive cyclone
in the central U.S. produced severe thunder- storms from eastern Texas to the
Upper Ohio Valley. A strong (F-3) tornado ripped through Middleboro Kentucky
causing more than 22 million dollars damage. Thunderstorms in east central
Texas produced hail three and a half inches in diameter at Groesbeck, and near
Fairfield.
May 10, 1905 -- A deadly tornado
hit the town of Snyder Oklahoma killing 87 persons. The tornado leveled 100
homes in Snyder, and destroyed many others. The large and violent tornado
killed a total of 97 persons along its 40 miles path across southwestern
Oklahoma. Its roar could reportedly be heard up to twelve miles away.
May 10, 1987 -- Summer-like
"Father's Day" type weather prevailed in the north central and
western U.S. for "Mother's Day", as seventeen cities reported record
high temperatures for the date. Jamestown North Dakota soared to a record high
of 96 degrees. Thunderstorms along the Central Gulf Coast deluged Lillian
Alabama with 14.5 inches of rain, and nearby Perdido Key Florida with 12.8
inches of rain.
May 11, 1970 -- A very powerful
tornado struck the city of Lubbock Texas killing 26 persons, injuring more than
500 others, and causing 135 million dollars damage. It was the most destructive
tornado of record up until that time, and came on the 17th anniversary of the
twister which struck Waco Texas killing 114 persons. A second tornado killed
two others persons in Lubbock, and the two tornadoes damaged or desUnseasonably
cold weather followed in the wake of a spring storm in the north central U.S.
Seven cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Madison
WI with a reading of 29 degrees.
May 11, 1990 -- Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Kansas, Oklahoma and
the northern half of Texas. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes in
Texas, and produced high winds which overturned four mobile homes northwest of
Abilene Texas injuring ten persons.troyed nearly a quarter of the city.
May 12, 1972 -- In Texas, A
cloudburst dumped sixteen inches of rain north of New Braunfels sending a
thirty foot wall of water down Blueders Creek into the Comal and Guadalupe
Rivers washing away people, houses and automobiles. The flood claimed 18 lives
and caused more than twenty million dollars damage.