A chilly night on the way. Our First Alert Forecast is for 44 early Wed. which would be just 2 degrees from the record low for the date (April 30th) of 42 set way back in 1874. Beautiful weather will continue the next couple days with large diurnal (night to day) temp. swings thanks to a very dry air mass. Early morning temps. in the 40s & 50s will warm to the mid to upper 70s Wed....near 80 Thu. & into the 80s by Fri.
Nice & much needed rain for a good part of the area Mon. though there were some "misses". Here are reports from the Community, Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) from Florida (Georgia is looking for observers & will begini their network soon):
BROOKER 6.6 SSE * : 0.45
GAINESVILLE 8.1 SW * : 0.02
GAINESVILLE 3.8 W * : 0.08
MACCLENNY 2.5 S * : 0.58
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS 6.9 ENE * : 0.02
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS 7.6 ENE * : T
ORANGE PARK 4.7 SW * : 0.39
ORANGE PARK 3.0 WNW * : 0.61
MIDDLEBURG 6.5 NNE * : 0.30
ORANGE PARK 0.7 NNE * : 0.60
MIDDLEBURG 6.3 NNE * : 0.30
STARKE 6.4 ENE * : 0.58
JACKSONVILLE 6.2 ENE * : 0.55
JACKSONVILLE 5.9 SW * : 0.65
JACKSONVILLE 8.4 SSE * : 1.04
NEPTUNE BEACH 0.5 NNW * : 0.73
JACKSONVILLE 8.1 SSE * : 0.70
JACKSONVILLE BEACH 4.5 W * : 1.03
FRUIT COVE 6.1 N * : 0.65
TRENTON 8.0 ENE * : 0.25
JASPER 5.5 S * : 0.82
BELLEVIEW 6.0 SSE * : 0.07
MICANOPY 3.6 SSW * : 0.01
DUNNELLON 2.4 NE * : 0.00
FERNANDINA BEACH 5.4 SW * : 0.37
HILLIARD 5.4 NW * : 0.50
SATSUMA 0.2 WSW * : 0.07
ST. AUGUSTINE SOUTH 2.1 S* : 0.06
LIVE OAK 9.1 NW * : 1.01
Our wet weather Mon. was caused by the same front that produced the highly local but intense tornado outbreak in Eastern Virginia. N.W.S. storm surveys are still being conducted by the Blacksburg office. Click here for tornado info. from the University of Oklahoma. We're entering the month -- May -- with the most average tornadoes in the U.S. (165).
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
541 PM EDT TUE APR 29 2008
...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...
A SMALL BUT INTENSE CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED IN A WARM...MOIST AIR MASS AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT ON MONDAY APRIL 28...2008. THE STRONGEST STORMS OCCURRED OVER SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA AND PRODUCED SIX TORNADOES.
THE STRONGEST TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR SUFFOLK, VA AT APPROXIMATELY 405 PM. MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE TORNADO HAD A PATH LENGTH OF ABOUT 10 MILES LONG AND A QUARTER MILE WIDE. THE PRELIMINARY RATING OF THIS TORNADO IS AN EF-3...PENDING FURTHER ASSESSMENT. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO HOMES AND A FEW BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT SUFFOLK, VA.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE IN WAKEFIELD VIRGINIA IDENTIFIED AND OUTLOOKED THE THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AS EARLY AS SATURDAY...APRIL 26. THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD ISSUED A WARNING FOR THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WHICH PRODUCED THE SUFFOLK, VA TORNADO AT 303
PM...WHILE THE STORM WAS STILL IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CONTINUED TO INTENSIFY AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING AT 311 PM FOR PORTIONS OF SUFFOLK VA...ALMOST AN HOUR PRIOR TO THE STORM AFFECTING DOWNTOWN SUFFOLK. THE TORNADO WARNING WAS REISSUED AT 350 PM...AND STATED THAT THE TORNADO WOULD BE NEAR DOWNTOWN SUFFOLK BY 405 PM. AT 404 PM...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUED A SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT...STATING THAT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR DOWNTOWN SUFFOLK. THE PRELIMINARY LEAD TIME FOR THE TORNADO WAS 15 MINUTES.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
215 PM EDT TUE APR 29 2008
...STORM DAMAGE IN HALIFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA CAUSED BY EF1 TORNADO...
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY FOUND THAT STORM DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED IN HALIFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA IN THE TOWN OF VIRGILINA MONDAY AFTERNOON WAS CAUSED BY AN EF1 TORNADO.
WINDS IN THE STORM WERE ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 86 AND 109 MPH.
THE STORM WAS ON THE GROUND FROM APPROXIMATELY 110 TO 115 PM. THE INITIAL DAMAGE STARTED JUST SOUTH AND WEST OF THE INTERSECTIONS OF HIGHWAYS 96 AND 49. THIS ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE TOWN OF VIRGILINA. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE TRAVELING TO THE NORTHEAST. SPORADIC DAMAGE OCCURRED FURTHER NORTHEAST ON GILLS MOUNTAIN ROAD FROM STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. AT THE WIDEST POINT...THE TORNADO WAS 240 YARDS WIDE.
6 HOMES WERE DAMAGED...AND NUMEROUS LARGE TREES WERE DOWNED AND SNAPPED.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER WANTS TO EXTEND IT THANKS TO THE VIRGINIA
DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...AND HALIFAX COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN THE STORM SURVEY.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
405 PM EDT TUE APR 29 2008
... THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF TORNADO SURVEY RESULTS FOR THE COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA TORNADO ON APRIL 28, 2008...
SURVEY DAMAGE SCALE RESULT: EF1
ESTIMATED WINDSPEED: 86-110 MPH
TOTAL INJURIES: 21
TOTAL DEATHS: 0
PATH LENGTH: APPROX. 1/2 MILE
PATH WIDTH: APPROX. 75-80 YARDS
SUMMARY...
IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS...THE TORNADO APPEARED TO MOVE ALONG AN
APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF MILE, 75-80 YARD WIDTH PATH FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. AS INDICATED FROM THE DAMAGE, THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN SPOTS BEGINNING NEAR THE END OF THE FOOTBALL FIELD NEAR COLONIAL HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL, ACROSS INTERSTATE 95, INTO THE DIMMOCK SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER. THE FIRST OF THE DAMAGE WAS TO A FOOTBALL FIELD CLUBHOUSE AS A PART OF THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF. THE STORM THEN LIFTED ACROSS AN AREA OF HOMES AND TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN JUST WEST OF THE INTERSTATE AND TEARING A PATH THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE MEDALLION POOLS BUILDING. TWISTED METAL WAS STREWN ACROSS THE PARKING LOT WITH
A FEW CARS DAMAGED FROM THE FLYING DEBRIS. THE TORNADO LIFTED AGAIN ACROSS I-95 SCATTERING DEBRIS ACROSS THE SOUTHGATE SQUARE PARKING LOT INCLUDING A HALF-TON AIR CONDITIONING UNIT BLOWN APPROXIMATELY 300 YARDS AND DEPOSITED IN FRONT OF THE HELZBERG DIAMONDS BUSINESS NEAR SOUTH PARK BOULEVARD.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED WITH THE FINAL TOUCHDOWN IN THE DIMMOCK SQUARE STRIP MALL. A STRING OF 4 STORES AROUND 75-80 YARDS IN WIDTH HAD CEILING TILES BLOWN OUT, ROOF PEELED OFF AND WINDOWS BLOWN OUT. SEVERAL CARS WERE DAMAGED...AS SOME HAD WINDOWS SHATTERED FROM FLYING DEBRIS. OTHER VEHICLES WERE FLIPPED AND TOSSED ABOUT IN PILES. THE STORM APPEARED TO LIFT AGAIN BUT THERE WAS DAMAGE TO A BANK AND LIGHT POLES BLOWN DOWN IN A CAR LOT APPROXIMATELY 50 TO 100 YARDS EAST OF DIMMOCK SQUARE. CARS WERE ALSO DAMAGED HERE FROM THE
FLYING DEBRIS.
A couple of weeks ago I visited Stockton Elementary for their career day. Click the following links for a fun-to-read card sent to me from one of the classes. Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
