Hi everybody and welcome! Well the weather for the Stuart air show was for the most part really nice although we did have a few stray showers around on Saturday afternoon. You have to admit it was a very impressive show! The light rain showers did very little to dampen the spirits of the huge crowd that turned out. The temperatures were in the mid 80’s in the afternoon dropping off to the low 70’s at night.
With the summer and fall season coming to a close and winter rapidly approaching, many of us are wondering what the season is going to bring. This year we are in a neutral state with no El Nino or la Nino to affect our weather. I think our season here in Florida is going to be more on the mild side overall with a couple of intense cold snaps that will not be long lived. Our precipitation should be near normal although the northern part of the state may be drier then normal which could lead to a drought situation there. This forecast could change as forecasters are watching a potential flare up a very weak El Nino sometime around the holidays. El Nino is caused by a warming in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. These temperature changes can have an impact on weather throughout the country. This could have an impact on the temperatures and precipitation around the country. The next winter weather update is due out around November 20th and I will update any changes with the new report.
Saturday night was a great night to watch the full lunar eclipse. The sky was for the most part cloudless and it treated viewers to a rare full eclipse of dazzling proportions. I used my telescope to view the eclipse and I must say it was very impressive. For those of you who might of missed it, I took some very impressive digital pictures through the telescope and as soon as I have them on my Website I will provide a web address to them.
Now, on to the Time Capsule….
November 14, 1969 -- Okeechobee Co. -- A tornado demolished three trailers and injured two people north of Okeechobee. Several homes, a dairy barn, and a 14 ft boat were damaged.
November15, 1916 -- Keys and south Florida -- A weak hurricane moved through the Keys from the southwest and weakened rapidly as it moved into the Atlantic.
November 15, 1983 -- Walton Co., Sandestin -- Thunderstorm winds damaged a construction site and injured six workers.
November 15, l994 -- Brevard Co., Micco -- A waterspout/tornado, on the outer fringes of Tropical Storm Gordon, struck the Barefoot Bay area of southern Brevard County. A 74-year-old-male was killed by trauma to the head, and about 40 people were injured. Six people were hospitalized, two in serious condition. About 63 mobile homes were destroyed and l8l had minor damage. Five other, weaker, tornadoes were reported along the east coast during the evening of the 15th, four in Palm Beach County. and one in Volusia County. No injuries were reported.
November16, 1951 -- Hernando County -- Heavy rain of 7.59" in 24 hours at Brooksville and 6.69" at St. Leo caused localized flooding.
November 17, 1987 -- Charlotte Co., Punta Gorda -- A gust of wind blew in windows at an Elks Club. One person suffered injuries from glass debris.
November18, l977 -- Dade Co. -- Miami Beach Patrol reported several funnel clouds forming and dissipating off south beach. A waterspout was reported at Key Biscayne.
November l8, l994 -- Broward Co., Ft. Lauderdale Beach -- A 35-year-old doctor drowned in a rip current while saving his 8-year-old son. The incident took place at a private motel beach south of Ft. Lauderdale Beach and was caused by large swells from Gordon.
November 19, 1969 -- Okaloosa Co. -- Thunderstorm winds blew a crane over on Destin Bridge blocking Highway 90 for several hours.
November19 – 21, l985 -- Lower Keys -- Big Bend area -- Hurricane Kate moved south of Key West on the 19th causing downed power poles, power lines, trees, and branches. A 62-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man were killed when their small boat capsized in heavy seas. Another man was electrocuted when he stepped on a downed power line. Two days later, Kate made landfall between Panama City and Apalachicola. A 38-year-old man was killed and his l6 year old son injured when a tree fell on their truck. An 8l year old woman died of a heart attack shortly after being evacuated to a hotel in Chipley. Tides ran eight to l0 feet above normal. Many houses were damaged by fallen trees. Many power poles and lines were downed. Several roads suffered washouts. Wind reached near 65 knots at Tallahassee and at Apalachicola.
November 20, l983 -- morning and afternoon -- Panhandle and central Florida -- Escambia Co., Pensacola -- A tornado damaged mobile homes, utility sheds, and power lines. Heavy rain caused localized flooding and lightning started several house fires. One man died when he touched an electrified fence caused by downed power lines. Severe thunderstorm winds damaged six homes in Bay County. In the afternoon a tornado struck Ormond Beach in Volusia Co. damaging 18 mobile homes and 40 cars. Another tornado struck rural Flagler Co. doing little damage. Severe thunderstorm winds were reported in Putnam, Citrus, Brevard, Charolotte and Lee Cos. Damage was mainly to mobile homes, roofs and signs - no injuries.
November 21, 1962 -- Marion Co., Lake Bryant -- Tornado hit ranger station in the Ocala National Forest, destroying several buildings. At Camp Kiwanis a new dormitory was nearly demolished.
November 22, l953 -- Bay County -- A Tornado destroyed five small houses and damaged many others in the Woodville community northwest of Panama City injuring 22 people.
November 22-24, 1984 -- St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach Counties. -- Great Thanksgiving Holiday East Coast Storm - A strong low-pressure system developed east of Florida, and coupled with a high pressure to the northwest, a strong pressure gradient led to gale force winds along the east coast. As the low moved slowly north heavy rain of up to seven inches fell over south Florida. There was extensive coastal flooding and beach erosion with many structures damaged or destroyed. Fishing piers and seawalls were damaged or destroyed. Damage ran into the millions and was confined to the seashore except where heavy rain in the south caused local flooding. A man was killed when he stepped on a downed power line.
November 23, 1988 -- Tropical Storm Keith moved across the Florida Peninsula, entering near Sarasota and exiting just north of Melbourne. Most of the convection had been sheared off before the storm crossed Florida. Most of the weather associated with Keith was to the north of the track. Maximum rainfall was 11 inches at Largo. Most rainfall totals were four to 7 inches to the north of the storm track and under one inch to the south of the storm track. A storm surge of nearly 6 feet maximum and three to 4 feet generally accompanied the storm on the Florida west coast south of the track as far south as Naples. Damage was near $3 million, mostly due to the storm surge. In Lee County damage was estimated at $l.5 million. Two tornadoes touched down in Pinellas Co. just before landfall, damaging hangar doors at St. Petersburg Airport.
Here are some National past weather events…
November 14, 1986 -- An early season cold wave set more than 200 records from the northwestern U.S. to the east coast over a seven-day period. For some places it proved to be the coldest weather of the winter season.
November 14, 1988 -- A massive storm produced snow and gusty winds in the western U.S., with heavy snow in some of the higher elevations. Winds gusted to 66 mph at Show Low Arizona, and Donner Summit, located in the Sierra Nevada Range of California, was buried under 23 inches of snow. Heavy rain soaked parts of California, with 3.19 inches reported at Blue Canyon.
November 15, 1987 -- Thunderstorms spawned twenty-two tornadoes in eastern Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. A tornado moving out of northeastern Texas killed one person and injured ninety-six others around Shreveport Louisiana causing more than five million dollars damage. Tornadoes in Texas claimed ten lives, and injured 191 persons. A tornado caused more than nineteen million dollars damage around Palestine Texas. Severe thunderstorms spawned eighteen tornadoes in Mississippi and seven in Georgia the next day, and thunderstorms in southeastern Texas produced wind gusts to 102 mph at Galveston, and wind gusts to 110 mph at Bay City, killing one person. There were a total of forty-nine tornadoes in the south central U.S. in two days. The tornadoes claimed eleven lives, injured 303 persons, and caused more than seventy million dollars damage.
November 17, 1927 -- A tornado cut a seventeen-mile path across Alexandria and southeastern Washington, DC, injuring 31 persons. The tornado struck the Naval Air Station where a wind gust of 93 mph was recorded. A waterspout was seen over the Potomac River ninety minutes later.
November 17, 1989 -- Freezing temperatures overspread the southeastern U.S. in the wake of the severe weather outbreak of the previous two days. Eight cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Gilbert Arizona with a reading of 8 degrees. A fast moving storm blanketed the Great Lakes Region and Upper Ohio Valley with snow during the night. Totals ranged up to 12 inches at Pellston Michigan and Little Valley New York.
November 21, 1985 -- - Hurricane Kate made landfall during the evening hours near Mexico Beach, Florida. Wind gusts to 100 mph were reported at Cape San Blas Florida. It was the latest known hurricane to hit the U.S. so far north.