Some natural air conditioning through Tue. & into Wed. with low humidity, cool nights & mild days. Unfortunately this pattern is making for a serious wildfire situation. SE Georgia managed plenty of rain over the weekend but most of Northeast Fl. had little or none. Our next chance for rain won't be until the end of the week. Scattered showers & storms should occur Fri. into Sat. as a cool front moves into the area.
This front will be part of another large & strong storm system that will move across the Central & Eastern U.S. Yet another major severe storm outbreak is likely from the Southern Plains to the East Coast. It's possible that some strong storms will occur on the First Coast as the front approaches later Fri.
It has indeed been a very stormy year so far -- 910 tornadoes & 96 deaths compared to the yearly avg. of 1,000 tornadoes & 60 deaths.
The First Coast was included in the severe weather over the weekend. The photo below is from St. Simons Island, GA where an EF-1 tornado hit Sun. afternoon.
Here's the storm survey from our Jax N.W.S.:
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
149 PM EDT MON MAY 12 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0250 PM TORNADO 6 ESE COUNTRY CLUB ESTA 31.18N 81.38W
05/11/2008 F1 GLYNN GA NWS STORM SURVEY
NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED F1 TORNADO DAMAGE ALONG A 2 MILE LONG PATH IN AND NEAR THE SEA PALMS RESORT AREA. PATH WIDTH WAS 1/10 TO 1/8 OF A MILE. MANY TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. NO SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OTHER THAN WHAT WAS CAUSED BY FALLEN TREES. WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE 80 TO 100 MPH.
But the southern edge of the storms was abrupt with most areas staying dry south of the Fl./Ga. border except for Nassau Co. & extreme Northeast Duval Co. where a few evening t'storms occurred. Three primary reasons:
(1) as the trough of low pressure helping to produce the storm system began to lift out to the north, the trailing cool front became more west/east oriented &
surface winds veered more westerly thereby decreasing the convergence necessary to cause sustained lift to help produce & sustain t'storms......
(2) the deepest moisture in the atmosphere pushed east & northeast away from the area with the veering winds
(3) temps. warmed aloft causing a "cap" through which storms had a difficult time penetrating (the warm layer is a stable layer)
Rainfall amounts in some parts of Southeast GA reached 2".
A huge severe storm complex moved across Georgia Sun. morning -- something referred to as a "derecho". These are long lasting, fast moving clusters -- often a line -- of storms that produce intense, damaging winds, hail, heavy rain & tornadoes. Click here for a nice description of a derecho courtesy NOAA. This press release Mon. from John Oxendine, Ga. Insurance & Fire Commissioner:
OXENDINE: 6,000 HOMES DAMAGED FROM GEORGIA STORMS, INSURED LOSSES ESTIMATED AT $50 MILLION AND GROWING
Atlanta – Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John W. Oxendine said he estimated that violent weather across Georgia over the weekend caused more than $50 million in insured losses, with more than 6,000 homes damaged.
“Our preliminary estimate today is more than $50 million in damage across Georgia. That figure may rise as new claims are reported,” Oxendine said. “I’ve been Commissioner for 14 years, and I don’t recall ever seeing damage spread across the whole state like this.”
The Commissioner sent consumer service personnel to storm-damaged communities today to get a first-hand look and to offer help to affected citizens.
“I’ve directed my staff to make every effort to work with consumers and help them through this difficult time,” Oxendine said.
Oxendine reminds Georgians that they can call his Consumer Services Division at 404-656-2070 or, outside the Metro area, 1-800-656-2298, if they have questions about a claim, or if they are experiencing difficulty reaching their insurance company. Phone lines are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Here are storm surveys from the weekend severe weather outbreak:
-- Atlanta
-- Tulsa
-- Springfield, MO.
-- Little Rock
Today I interviewed Mark Goldwich, author of "Uncovered: What Really Happens After the Storm, Flood, Earthquake or Fire". Parts of the interview will air in our hurricane program: "First Alert: Hurricane Watch '08". I'd highly recommend his book -- a tutorial on how to deal with insurance companies that don't want to pay up. Mark emphasizes that the consumer should not give up when it comes to be "strong armed" by large insurance companies. Click here for info. on his book.
