Joe’s Disco Weather Central Time Capsule

 

             Hi everybody and welcome! Well Kyle is finally moving out of our way after being around for almost 23 days! Kyle’s path looks more like that of a sailor lost at sea with no compass then that of a tropical system. Kyle regained tropical storm strength five times during his long life. He gained hurricane status once on September 25 and reached a maximum wind speed of 85 mph on September 26th. Kyle seemed to have his eyes on us several times over the course of his travels. He just seemed to keep changing his mind. I never really felt we had to really worry about him all that much but he was fun to track!

             The other day I was talking to a fellow employee at work and he mentioned that he was from New Hamphshire and that he lived near a place called Mount Washington. As we kept talking the conversation turned to weather. He started to tell me about the severe weather conditions that exist there almost all year. I just had to do some research and found a lot of interesting facts. Mount Washington is known as the “Home of the world’s worst weather”. The mountain boasts the most severe combinations of wind, cold, icing, and storminess available anywhere in the world. The Mount Washington Observatory, which is located at the summit, has a multitude of weather instruments so that no weather angle is missed. The reason for the bad weather is the geographic location of the mountain. It lies in the path of main storm tracks and air mass routes that affect the northeastern United States. Because of its high elevation, it is very similar to being in a sub arctic zone. The mountains elevation is 6,288 feet above sea level. Mount Washington sets the world record for the highest wind speed ever recorded. On April 12th, 1934, the wind reached 231 mph! The record has been held ever since. The lowest temperature recorded on the mountain was –47 degrees set in January 1934. The highest temperature was 72 degrees which was reached in August of 1975. The average temperature only reaches 26.5 degrees. The mountain has an average annual snowfall of 256 inches. The maximum seasonal snowfall was reached in 1968 – 1969 and was 566.4 inches. The winds exceed hurricane force at least 104 days a year. If your thinking of visiting the summit, the top of the mountain is in the clouds about 60% of the year so your visibility will probably be impaired. The weather there right now is rainy with a temperature around 41 degrees with 33 mph wind gusts.

            Now, on to the Time Capsule.

 

October l8, l9l6 -- panhandle -- A Hurricane made landfall near Pensacola. The wind instrument tower at the Weather Bureau Office blew down at l0l4 after registering a gust of l20 mph. About 200 trees throughout the city were blown down.

October l8, -l9 l944 -- Peninsula -- The outer fringes of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico spawned three weak tornadoes in Polk, Hardee, and Desoto counties on the afternoon of the 18th. The hurricane then made landfall near Sarasota early on the 19th and moved across the State, exiting near Jacksonville. This storm was noteworthy for producing damaging inland winds. Dangerous winds extended fully 200 miles to the right or east of the center, about l00 miles to the left or west, thus affecting the entire peninsula of Florida. Winds of hurricane force were widespread with gusts to l00 mph at Tampa and Orlando. Tides were high from Sarasota southward on the Gulf and from Melbourne northward on the Atlantic. Naples and Jacksonville Beach both reported l2 foot tides. Citrus and other agricultural damage were extensive. Orlando suffered the most property damage, estimated at over l million dollars. Eighteen people were killed, 14 by drowning, and 24 were seriously injured.

October l8, l959 -- central Florida -- Tropical Storm Judith rapidly crossed central Florida on the morning of the 18th. Two tornadoes were reported in southeast Florida on the afternoon of the 17th in advance of Judith.

October 19, 1958 -- Palm Beach and Martin Cos. -- A waterspout/tornado moved in from Lake Okeechobee, striking Pahokee and ending near Indiantown. About two dozen homes were destroyed and one man was killed in his home.

 October l9, l985 -- Dade Co., Miami -- Lightning killed a l9 year old man.

October 20-21, 1924 -- south Florida -- A weak hurricane made landfall near Marco Island with gusts to 90 mph on the afternoon of the 20th. The storm moved across the peninsula, exiting into the Atlantic near Ft. Lauderdale as a tropical storm early on the 21st.

 October 20, l94l  -- Marion Co., Ocala -- A tornado, spawned by a tropical storm, destroyed a two- story home and killed an infant girl. Another tornado in Gainesville injured one.

 October 20, l976 --Madison Co., Madison -- A Tornado damaged a large grain elevator. Heavy rain and hail also fell.

October 21, l993  -- Lee Co., Cape Coral -- Lightning struck a home and injured a resident.

October 22, l945 -- Leon Co., Miccosukee -- A tornado destroyed at least 33 homes in several small rural communities. One woman was killed as her home was swept away and she was thrown 500 feet. Four others were injured and 24 families were left homeless.

October 22, l966 -- Palm Beach and Broward Counties -- Heavy rains caused loss of 4300 acres of early planted vegetables. Rainfall amounts of 8-l0" were reported.

October 23, l966 --Hillsborough Co., Ybor City -- Lightning killed a l0 year old boy who was playing outside his home.

October 24, l969 -- morning -- Palm Beach Co., Riviera Beach -- A house boat sank after being battered by high winds and lashing water. Winds reported at 40-45 mph. -- Boca Raton --Wind gusts at 42 mph caused a large crane to slip from a derrick barge.

October 25-26, 1921 -- Florida -- A hurricane made landfall near Tarpon Springs with winds of 100 mph and a 10.5-foot storm surge on the evening of the 25th and crossed the peninsula, exiting near Ponce De Leon Inlet on the morning of the 26th. There was great damage in the Tampa area. Eggmont and Sanibel Islands were practically covered with water. Six deaths attributed to this storm.

October 25, l98l -- Calhoun Co., Blountstown -- A Tornado damaged 75 houses and destroyed three. The high school football stadium was destroyed and trees and power lines were downed. Twelve persons were injured. The tornado did all this damage in less than five minutes.

October 26, 1968 -- northwest Florida -- Canadian high-pressure system behind a strong cold front brought an early cold spell to northwest Florida. Cross-City reported and all-time October record low of 30 degrees.

 October 26, 1979 -- Palm Beach Co. -- A waterspout was observed 15 miles southeast of Palm Beach.

            Before I close, I just wanted to forward a local storm report that I just received while I was writing the column. At 4:40 pm on 10/13/02 at Universal Studios in Orlando, a severe thunderstorm produced .75-inch hail in the park. This is considered dime size hail.

            That’s all for this weeks time Capsule, I hope you enjoy it. Please e-mail me if you have any weather questions you would like answered or if you have any ideas or comments. My e-mail address is JOESDISCOWEATHER@AOL.COM. As always, for the latest updates go to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM.