Hi everybody and welcome! Just when everybody in New Jersey thought that they escaped the real wrath of Isabel, a surprise tornado and heavy rains hit the region on September 23rd. many parts of north Jersey received as much as three inches of rain with some flooding reported. A tornado was sighted on the ground in Flemington with many houses being reported damaged or destroyed. There was also numerous wires and trees down. The tornado was an F-1, which is the weakest category. In Princeton, wind damage was reported with an 80-mph thunderstorm wind gust. A funnel cloud was also reported in Mercer County near Ewing where telephone lines were reportedly snapped. There was also flooding and wind damage reported in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The tropics this week are heating up again with Juan, near Bermuda and tropical Depression 16, which is far out in the central Atlantic. I don’t see any of these storms affecting the U.S.
With the onset of slightly cooler temperatures, now is the time to get your yard spruced up for the coming winter season. Now is an excellent time to start thinking about feeding your lawn to get a lush green color for the coming holidays. In Florida, 16-4-8 in an excellent fertilizer to use on your lawn if you just need greening and not weed control. If your lawn has lots of weeds and/or dollar weed, you might want to consider using a good quality weed and feed such as Bonus-S. Keep in mind that I do not recommend using weed and feed until the average daytime temperature goes down to 85 degrees. Using it when the temperatures are too hot can cause some browning. Also you need to be sure to use the right weed and feed for the type of grass you are treating. If you have St. Augustine grass you should use a product that contains atrizine. If you have Bahia grass, be sure it is listed as safe for Bahia before using .Do not use an atrizine based product on Bahia grass, as it will kill the grass as well as the weeds. Be sure to follow all label directions carefully!
With a little time and patience, you can have a lawn that will make you proud this coming season.
Now, on to the Time Capsule…
October 3 – 4, l966 -- south Florida and Keys -- Late on the 3rd Hurricane Inez began moving southwestward from a position about l00 miles east of Miami. The eye of Inez moved from Key Largo to Key West on the 4th. The highest wind reported on the Florida mainland was a gust to 80 mph at Homestead AFB. There were no sustained winds of hurricane force on the mainland. All of the Keys reported winds of hurricane force ranging up to l00-l25 mph in gusts. Rainfall totals were between 2-4 inches over the southeast portion of the peninsula and in the Keys. Three people were killed and 11 injured. Over $5 million dollars in property damage was done. Two tornadoes were reported in Putnam Co. on the evening of the 4th, far from the center of Inez.
October 3, l992 -- all day -- west central & north Florida -- Tornado Outbreak -- A strong tropical disturbance in the eastern Gulf of Mexico spawned 10 tornadoes from the Tampa Bay area to Ocala, killing four and injuring 77. Hardest hit was Pinellas Co., where all the deaths occurred. -- Pinellas Co. -- A tornado heavily damaged a mobile home park in Indian Rocks. An elderly lady was killed when her mobile home was demolished. -- Pinellas Co. --Tornado/ Waterspout -- moved inland about l/2 mile south of Treasure Island Causeway. It severely damaged the roof of an apartment complex and moved across the Isle of Palms, damaging roofs and uprooting trees. -- Pinellas Co. -- Another tornado formed near the intersection of Hwy. #693 and the Seaboard Coast Line railroad, toppling trees south of the tracks. It then moved northeast severely damaging an apartment complex, continuing north it destroyed mobile homes and damaged homes. The tornado strengthened and moved across the Point Royale Village mobile home park. Many mobile homes were blown apart. Two people were killed as their mobile homes disintegrated. One woman was killed by falling debris as her garage roof collapsed on her. Other tornadoes were reported in Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Marion, Citrus and Levy counties without serious injury. Heavy rain with the low caused moderate to heavy flooding in northeast Florida, especially the Jacksonville area. High tides caused some minor coastal flooding and beach erosion on the Gulf coast.
October 4, 1995 - Opal developed over the south central Gulf of Mexico on the 2nd, and intensified to a category 4 hurricane during the early morning hours of the 4th, as it moved rapidly northeast across the Gulf of Mexico. Opal diminished to a marginal category 3 hurricane before making landfall near Pensacola Beach during the late afternoon of the 4th, yet was still the strongest hurricane to hit the Florida panhandle in 20 years. The center of the storm moved ashore at almost the same location as hurricane Erin about two months earlier. As Opal moved ashore, minimum central pressure was 942 MB, and estimated maximum sustained wind speeds were 115 mph. Highest observed wind speeds were 84 mph gusting to 144 mph at Hurlburt Field in Mary Esther. The storm surge reached approximately 10 feet above mean sea level (MSL), with debris lines up to 25 feet above MSL. By far the greatest amount of damage from Opal in northwest Florida occurred due to devastating storm surge and waves along the beaches of Walton, Bay and Gulf counties. Almost 300 homes were destroyed with another 1,000 homes suffering major damage. The storm surge destroyed highway 399 that runs from Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach, and U.S. highway 98 between Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Several tornadoes were reported with one fatality near Crestview. There were no reported deaths due to storm surge flooding. The most rainfall occurred at Ellyson Field where 15.45 inches fell on the 3rd and 4th. Crop damage was estimated at $5 million dollars. It was estimated that $50 million in damage was done to recreational boats, with almost 1,000 boats damaged, and about 70 boats lost or sunk. Insured property damage was estimated at $2 billion or more, ranking Opal as one of the costliest twentieth century U.S. hurricanes. The outer fringes of Opal caused tidal flooding and beach erosion as far south as the lower Florida Keys. In Key West, major beach erosion, with estimated restoration costs near $3 million occurred, and streets in old town were inundated with seawater. Many people in Florida were without water for several days. Inland, Opal downed numerous trees and knocked out power to nearly two million people.
October 4-5, l933 -- south Florida -- A hurricane passing through the Florida Straits spawned several tornadoes. Late on the 4th a tornado unroofed four homes and injured three people in Miami. Two other tornadoes struck Broward Co. early on the morning of the 5th. One tornado unroofed a home and a lumber company.
October 4 –5, l964 -- late afternoon -- northwest Florida -- The remnants of Hurricane Hilda moved into Florida about 30 miles northwest of Pensacola the afternoon of the 4th, then continued to diminish in intensity and drift eastward through the western counties and along the Georgia-Florida border before moving into the Atlantic north of Jacksonville late on the 5th. Storm damage in Florida was minor. One person drowned in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola on the 4th. Wind gusts and squalls reached as high as 50 mph inland and up to 60 mph along the coast in the Pensacola area. Storm tides were less than 2 feet above normal and only minor tidal flooding occurred. Rainfall in the area west of Tallahassee reached as high as six to 8" and caused some local flooding.
October 6-7, 1941 -- south and northwest Florida --A Hurricane struck near Miami early on the 6th with peak winds of 123 mph, causing considerable property damage. Five drowned in small boats capsized by high wind. The hurricane moved out into the Gulf of Mexico and made a second landfall near Apalachicola the morning of the 7th.
October 6, 1974 -- all day - east coast -- Coastal Flooding/High Wind/Heavy Rain. A low pressure system that had brought windy conditions to Florida since the 1st of the month, strengthened into a subtropical storm early on the 6th and moved northward just off the east coast causing extremely rough seas, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. Winds of 25 to 40 mph with higher gusts were reported. Locally heavy rain caused flooding along the east coast. Heaviest amounts were 14" at Boca Raton and 10" at Cocoa. No deaths or serious injuries were reported. Thousands of surfers were attracted by the extended period of rough seas and high surf along the east coast during the first week of October - some suffered cuts and bruises.
October 7-8, 1946 -- west coast/northwest Florida -- A hurricane made landfall near Bradenton with 80-mph winds and a 6-foot storm surge. The storm weakened to a tropical storm as it move across Tampa Bay and reached the Florida/Georgia border early on the 8th.
October 7, l947 -- Duval Co., Jacksonville -- Tornado, spawned by a tropical depression, destroyed six trailers, damaged 25 others, and unroofed homes. Ten people were injured. Another tornado hit a trailer village at Green Cove Springs in Clay County.
October 7-8, 1996 -- Statewide -- Tropical Storm Josephine -Tracked northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with the center moving onshore over Apalachee Bay along the Florida Big Bend coast on the evening of the 7th, crossing the coast in a relatively uninhabited region of north Florida, in Taylor County, at about 2330 on the 7th. Storm surge heights were significant from the Tampa area northward to eastern Apalachee Bay. County officials estimated storm tides (storm surge plus astronomical tide) ranged from up to 9 feet in Levy County to 4 to 6 feet in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, and 3 feet as far south as Lee County. These tides produced widespread flooding of roads, dwellings, and businesses as far south as the lower Florida Keys. Josephine produced a record 22-documented tornadoes (21 F0, 1 F2, plus one waterspout) over central and northern Florida, making it the most prolific tornado producing tropical cyclone in Florida history. These caused mostly minor damage, primarily to trees. One tornado, however, had a 7-mile long, 400-yard wide track across Edgewater in Volusia County. It severely damaged 30 homes, while 200 others had minor damage. Rainfall amount of up to 8.5 inches were reported over northern Florida in association with Josephine. Property damage in Florida is estimated to be over 49 million. There were no deaths that could be directly attributed to Josephine. A woman suffered a heart attack during a tornado in Edgewater, and a surfer suffered a broken leg in Pinellas County.
October 8-9, 1896 -- south/central Florida -- A hurricane made landfall on the Gulf Coast near Punta Gorda and crossed the peninsula exiting into the Atlantic near Melbourne early on the 9th. This storm was responsible for 68 deaths.
October 9, l953 -- morning -- west central Florida -- Tropical Storm Hazel quickly crossed central Florida from Charlotte Harbor to Vero Beach with winds of 60 to 70 mph. The peak gust of 80 mph was reported by the Corp of Engineers in a squall in Okeechobee. 64mph winds were reported at Patrick AFB. Hazel spawned a tornado at landfall in Lee County that destroyed several houses on Pine Island, near Ft. Myers. Three to five inches of rain from Hazel added to previous flooding problems and the upper St. Johns River reached the highest flood stage ever known, exceeding by l l/2 feet the previous record and covering six miles of Highway 192 between Melbourne and Kissimmee.
That’s all for this weeks Time Capsule. I hope you enjoyed it. I love to
hear from you! Please e-mail me your ideas and suggestions to JOESDISCOWEATHER@AOL.COM. As always,
for the latest in severe weather updates and now winter weather updates from
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