Hi everybody and welcome! This has been a real interesting week in the tropics. First we had Hurricane Isidore which at one time posed a real threat to our area. We can thank the high-pressure ridge that edged west for saving us from that one. The storm is still projected to move north at some point in time and possibly threaten the gulf coast area. Tropical Storm Kyle also has an interesting forecast track taking it somewhat to the southwest. We will have to see how this transpires over time. Then we have yet another. TD13, which is the one I am most concerned about right now. By the time you read this it may well be a hurricane somewhere near our front door. This one I will be watching closely. Of course Murphy’s Law stepped in this week and put my FTP up loader to my Website out of order so I have been relying on my wife’s computer to do my Website uploads. It’s a little rough because I have to tear her away from her E Bay work but she is very understanding. I guess I’m pretty lucky.
This week I have been getting some very nice compliments from readers who have been visiting me on Saturdays at the Stuart K Mart. They are saying that they really enjoy my articles and love The Hometown News in general. I also have had many visitors to my web site during this active tropical period. I would like to thank everybody for his or her support!
I received a really nice e-mail from a reader this week that wanted to know what the weather would be like in N.Y. on February 15 next year. So I opened my crystal ball and did some research and came up with some averages to go by. So here are the statistics for N.Y. on this date. This is based on averages from 1961 to present. The normal maximum temperature is 40. The normal minimum temperature is 28. The normal average is 34 degrees. The lowest recorded temperature was -8 degrees in 1943.The normal precipitation for February. is 3.15". The normal snowfall is 7.6" for February. The highest snowfall on Feb. 15 was 5.4" in 1922.
I had one more interesting thing happen this week. My daughter, Kimmy, was on a camping trip in Indiana when the weather started to turn bad. She called me on her cell phone all the way from Indiana to get the update. I opened all my computer weather toys and saw a severe line of storms getting ready to move through the area. She said the storms seem a lot worse when you’re in a tent! I called her back when I saw on the Doppler that all was clear. Ahh, the busy life of a weather observer!
Now, on to the Time Capsule:
September 26, l982 -- Okeechobee Co., Basinger--A tornado, spawned by a low-pressure system, touched down and destroyed several mobile homes. Some parts were twisted around treetops as high as 20 feet. A 30-ft tank full of molasses was torn from its stand and thrown l00 feet. A 53-year-old woman was killed and seven were injured in a mobile park. Two other tornadoes were reported in the area.
September 27, l906 – Mobile, Al-Pensacola, Fl -- Hurricane -- This storm made landfall in Alabama, but caused tremendous damage in the Pensacola area. The entire waterfront was inundated; train service in and out of the city was completely paralyzed. Muskogee Wharf, belonging to the L&N Railroad Co., was broken in two in the middle, and the tracks on either side of the Main Creek were washed away (including 38 coal cars). The greatest damage was along east Main Street, the south side of which was completely washed away. Thirty-four killed at Pensacola.
September 27, l982 -- Dade Co., Miami -- Lightning hit the infield rail of Calder Race Track, knocking a race track worker unconscious.
September 27-28, l984 -- central and north Florida -- Tropical Storm Isidore made landfall near West Palm Beach on the morning of the 27th. From there it moved slowly to near Orlando in the evening, then recurved to the northeast and crossed over Jacksonville and out to sea on the 28th. Highest wind gust was 73 mph near St. Augustine. Rainfall of five to 7 inches in north Florida caused local flooding.
September 27, l987 --Lee Co., Sanibel -- Lightning killed a 35 year old woman riding a bicycle on the causeway. It was not raining.
September 28, 1896 -- A major hurricane made landfall near Cedar Key in the evening. 100 people died.
September 28-29, l9l7 -- Pensacola-Valparaiso -- Hurricane -- This storm did much damage on the coast and to crops. The lowest barometer reading, 28.5l inches, was a record for the Pensacola Station. The highest wind velocity during the storm was l03 miles an hour with a gust of l25 mph from the southeast.
September 28, l929 -- Keys, southwest Florida, and Panhandle -- Hurricane -- The center passed over Key Largo on the 28th with winds estimated at l50 mph. There was ten-minute lull as the center passed. At the Everglades, the wind was estimated at l00 mph. The storm reached Panama City on the 30th. Although there was enormous damage at Nassau in the Bahamas and many lives were lost there, its course in Florida was such that damage was not excessive. Three lives were lost. This hurricane spawned five tornadoes over Dade and Broward Counties, injuring more than l6 people. Broward Co., Palm Beach Co., Martin. Co., - A hurricane spawned tornado unroofed or damaged buildings. Most of the injuries were from flying glass.
September 29, l959 -- Dade Co., Miami -- Two people drowned when a huge wave knocked them into the water at the l63rd Street Beach.
September 30 l957, -- Taylor Co., Keaton Beach -- Waterspout moved onshore and unroofed three homes and one of them lost two walls.
Did you know that the word hurricane is a colonial Spanish and Caribbean Indian term that means big wind? These awesome storms have plagued residents and sailors ever since the first days of colonization. Hurricanes cost us billions of dollars in damage. During this century, 23 hurricanes have each caused damage in excess of I billion dollars. Hurricane Andrew alone was responsible for more then 25 billion.
That’s it for the Time Capsule for this week. As always for the latest info on the tropics turn to JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL.COM. You can e-mail me at JOESDISCOWEATHERCENTRAL@AOL.COM. Remember to join me on Saturday mornings for a cup of free coffee and a free copy of the Hometown News at the Stuart K Mart garden center!