Hi everybody and welcome. Well, as of this writing the tropics are beginning to heat up. We have tropical storm Dolly that I expect will be a hurricane at some point as it moves across the Atlantic. All the current models keep it going toward the west-north west for at least several days. This is all due to the ridge that lies to the north of the system. We will need to keep a close watch on the tropics from now on in as the conditions are getting much more favorable for development.
Last week I talked a lot about hurricane Andrew. Today I want to talk a little about hurricane David. David was really the last big hurricane that we experienced here in the Fort Pierce area. I remember it well as it was the first time I experienced a full-blown storm. Being raised in New Jersey I never really saw hurricanes that often although they often threatened the area. David struck the area on September 3, 1979 just one year after moving to Florida. At the time I lived in a mobile home in Port Salerno. At that time, Port Salerno was a true fishing town with very few stores and very little traffic. Salerno Grocery was the place most residents went to go grocery shopping. There was a genuine small town atmosphere.
Although I did not have all the weather equipment I have today, I still tracked the storm for several days using a regular tracking map and getting my coordinates from radio or TV. I can clearly remember as it slammed into the Dominican Republic with 165-mph winds and then became stationary just off the north coast of Haiti. The NWS kept telling us in Florida that the storm would pose a significant threat to us once it picked up its new steering currents. The news media kept saying it was going to intensify and to prepare for the worse. I was, to say the least, going into a panic stage. I had to make a decision on what to move out of my mobile home and when I was going to leave. Once I realized the storm was imminent, I borrowed my dad’s station wagon and loaded all I could load into the back of it. When I drove away, I realized that in about 12 hours, this whole area might have a whole new face-lift.
The only safe place I really had to stay was my parent’s house on Sunset Drive in Jensen Beach. I helped my dad put up all the shutters while carefully listening to all the weather reports. Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the storm was closing in. The electricity went out after the first big squall came through. It sounded like a train was traveling over the roof. There really was not much information on where the storm was. Once the storm missed the Miami area it seemed as though we were on our own. The storm was lost! The only thing I could get on the local radio was pretaped elevator music. Then, finally, there was a report from a sheriff’s deputy that he was riding in the eye! Soon after all heck broke loose. I learned the meaning of sustained winds! I saw pieces of the neighbors shed flying in the air as though it had wings. The utility poles were wobbling back and forth like giant levers. As the eye passed, the sun came out and it was like nothing had happened. People were congregating on the street all taking about what they just experienced. Fortunately, part two of the storm was not nearly as bad and damage was at a minimum. There were many traffic lights on the ground and lots of trees blocking roads, but nothing major. This was a test. A drill. This was just to see if we are ready. Soon after the storm, the NWS made sure that we would not be left out in the cold again by adding more radar and other equipment so our area was better covered. We learn something new from every storm or near miss that we have.
Now, on to the Time Capsule!
September 6-9, l933 -- West Central Florida - All time record flood crests on the Peace River at Zolfo Springs, the Alafia River at Lithia, and the Hillsborough River at Tampa.
September 6, l968 -- afternoon - St. Lucie Co., Fort Pierce -- Lightning killed a 60-year old citrus grove worker while working in a nest of trees.
September 6-8, 1974 -- West Coast - Hurricane Carmen - caused rough seas, high tides, and minor beach erosion along the western coast of Florida (both Panhandle and Peninsula) as it passed far to the west beyond 90 degrees longitude. The storm began moving northward from Yucatan on September 5th, passing through the central Gulf of Mexico and moving inland on the Louisiana coast during the predawn hours of September 8th.
September 8 – 9, l957 -- Panhandle/northwest Florida -- Tropical Storm Debbie made landfall near Fort Walton Beach on the morning of the 8th. Winds of 30 to 40 mph were reported from stations along the track. The highest winds were reported from the Tampa-Tallahassee area, with Tampa reporting a peak gust of 52 mph from the south on the 8th. Rainfall of up to ll.26 inches at Wewahitchka, accompanied by tides l to 4 feet above normal, caused some local flooding, particularly in the vicinity of St. Marks, where flood waters reached the downtown area. A man drowned on the St. Johns River in Duval County when rough waters washed him overboard.
September 8 – 9, l965 - Southern Peninsula, Keys and Gulf Coast - Hurricane Betsy passed extreme south Florida early on the 8th, moved across the upper Keys, through Florida Bay and into the Gulf of Mexico north of Key West, and across the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. The strongest winds were from the northwest estimated at l40 mph in the Keys. The passage of the storm center across the upper Keys produced strong onshore winds and high tides along the southeast coast with gusts to 60 mph reported as far north as Melbourne. Flooding on the upper Keys was extensive and water reached depths of several feet in many areas, covering highways and first floors of buildings. Storm tides reached 6.l feet along the Miami Beach oceanfront and rising waters flooded extensive sections of Key Biscayne. Most of the total damage occurred in the east coastal areas south of Palm Beach Co. and on the Keys. There were five known fatalities. Three additional persons were missing in the Gulf and presumed lost, making the death toll total eight in Florida. A tornado spawned by Betsy destroyed a dozen trailers near Marathon in Monroe Co. at noon on the 8th.
September 9 - l0, l882 -- Alachua Co. - A tornado on the outer fringes of a hurricane, injured four people at Archer and destroyed some small homes. Five more tornadoes were spawned by the same hurricane as it went ashore in the western panhandle. 10/2100 - Gadsden Co. - Five people died when tornadoes spawned by the same hurricane struck tenant homes near Quincy, others may have died later. Other tornadoes occurred at Tallahassee, Freeport, Darbyville, and Madison.
September 9-l0, l9l9 -- Key West -- Hurricane - 300 lives were lost mostly in ships near Key West, where winds were reported at ll0 mph as this violent storm caused considerable damage. Brick structures had walls blown out and large vessels were torn from their moorings and blown on banks. A tornado destroyed six buildings and damaged l9, injuring six people at Goulds in Dade Co. This hurricane killed hundreds more on its track to south Texas. The final death toll of over 600, mostly in ships at seas, makes this the 3rd deadliest U.S. hurricane on record.
September 9-l2, l964 -- north and northeast Florida - Hurricane Dora, the first storm of hurricane intensity to cross into northeast Florida from the Atlantic since records have been kept, moved inland over St. Augustine about l2l5 on the l0th. St. Augustine was in the eye of the storm from l2l5 to 0l30 AM and recorded a sea level pressure of 28.52 inches. Dora produced sustained winds of around l00 mph, and abnormally high tides to almost all coastal points north of Daytona Beach during the night of 9-l0. Highest sustained winds, from the southwest, and estimated at l25 mph were reported at St. Augustine. Sustained winds of 82 mph were recorded in Jacksonville, and this was the first time in Weather Bureau history that winds of full hurricane force have been observed in Jacksonville. Storm tides reached l2 feet at St. Augustine and ranged between five and l0 feet above normal north of Daytona Beach. Wind and tide damage was extensive along the Atlantic coast north of St. Augustine. High winds in the Jacksonville area caused a massive utilities failure. Agriculture sustained considerable damage because of the flooding throughout north Florida. One death and eight injuries were reported from Dora.
September l0-ll, l960 -- Florida Peninsula -- Hurricane Donna -- This hurricane (6th most intense U. S. hurricane at landfall), crossed over the middle Florida Keys between two and 3 a.m. on the l0th. After keeping a short distance offshore it reached the coastline again south of Naples and then turned north over Ft. Myers, then more northeastward, going out to sea a short distance north of Daytona Beach. At Sombrero light on the Keys, the highest wind speed was l06 mph with gusts to l50 mph. At Tavernier, the highest winds were l20 mph, which was the highest point on the dial. Maximum sustained winds on the Keys have been estimated around l40 mph, with gusts possibly as high as l75 mph to l80 mph. The lowest barometric pressure reported was at Craig Key where three barometers ranged from 27.4 to 27.5 inches. The pipeline supplying the Keys with fresh water was broken in at least three places. The Overseas Highway was overflowed by storm tides at several places. Wind damage was enormous on the Keys and on the southwest coast from Everglades City to Punta Gorda. Rainfall ranged from five to l0 inches in an 80 to l00 mile wide belt extending roughly 50 to 75 miles to the right of the storm track and 40 to 50 miles to the left of the track. Lake and stream overflow forced evacuation of some homes on the central peninsula. High waters also closed many roads and inundated considerable agricultural land throughout the southern and central peninsula. At least a dozen killed in Florida and l794 injuries reported.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s time capsule. As always for the latest in tropical storm and hurricane updates, go to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM.