South Florida Winter Weather Obs!

[NDG]

I am wondering if that 37F area that extends all the way to the SE part of Lake Okeechobee (see map above) is due to the effect of NW winds blowing over the lake.

Clearly the reason why the SE coast of FL (and parts of the E coast) did not freeze was because the winds veered just barely enough to the NNE to bring in some warmth off the Atlantic.

Lake effect warmth, something similar to what happens in the N.O. area when there is a north wind there is sometimes as much as a 10 deg difference between the southshore and northshore.

[jasons2k]

From SPTIMES:

Even Pinellas County, where chilly readings are rare because it is surrounded on three sides by water, saw freezing temperatures this morning for the first time since 1979, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Ruskin said.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/ ... es-di.html

[jasons2k]

My aunt in Dunedin said it got to 26 there. That's just insane. Lots of tender palms will RIP after this one.

[NDG]

Actually I am not sure why the East coast of FL stayed above freezing. Looks like all the obs from last night show NW winds.

Winds just above the surface started switching to the N and NE after midnight, bringing in warmer temps in the lower atmosphere in the east coast stopping or slowind down CAA and since winds stayed up and did not die down, perfect radiational cooling did not take place.

[DESTRUCTION5]

...FLURRIES OCCURRING ALONG THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST...

THE COLD TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS
ARE PRODUCING OCEAN EFFECT SNOW FLURRIES OFFSHORE AND ALONG THE EAST
CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST. FLURRIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN
VOLUSIA COUNTY NEAR HOLLY HILL AND ORMOND BEACH...AND THE POTENTIAL
FOR ADDITIONAL FLURRIES EXISTS FROM BREVARD COUNTY SOUTHWARD THROUGH
INDIAN RIVER...ST LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES AS RADAR ECHOES APPROACH
THE COAST. THESE FLURRIES MAY CONTINUE INTO THE LATE MORNING BEFORE
CHANGING OVER TO VERY LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE. NO ACCUMULATION OF SNOW
IS EXPECTED. THE LAST TIME FLURRIES WERE REPORTED IN EAST CENTRAL
FLORIDA WAS JANUARY 24TH IN 2003.

[JonathanBelles]

I has frozen here in Pinellas more than that. Its frozen at least twice since 2003 at my house.

[JonathanBelles]

any snow obs from the East Coast yet?

[gatorcane]

Thanks NDG for the explanation. That makes sense.

I think many palms in the Central and SW Florida area are RIP after this freeze especially the younger, smaller ones. Those that planted Royal, Coconut palms, and other palms that only grow in South Florida could be sorry. Also queen palms and other more "tolerant" palms may take a big hit. They may not die but their leaves will probably turn brown and fall off.

I checked Tampa for example, and it saw over 5 hours of temps below freezing with winds upwards of 20-25mph....

It's been a *long* time since this type of wind/freeze event has happened to the west coast of FL.

[JonathanBelles]

000
NWUS52 KMLB 031412
LSRMLB

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
912 AM EST THU JAN 03 2008

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

0730 AM SNOW DAYTONA BEACH 29.21N 81.03W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH VOLUSIA FL BROADCAST MEDIA

SEVERAL REPORTS OF SNOW FLURRIES FROM ORMOND BEACH TO
DAYTONA BEACH AND PORT ORANGE. FIRST FLURRY REPORTS AT
APPROXIMATELY 730 AM IN ORMOND BEACH AND STILL OCCURRING
AS OF 905 AM IN PORT ORANGE. SNOW FLURRY REPORTS WERE
RECEIVED FROM DAYTONA BEACH OBSERVER...SPOTTERS AND VIA
NEWS CHANNEL 13.

[JonathanBelles]

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
925 AM EST THU JAN 03 2008

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

0900 AM SNOW 2 NNW SCOTTSMOOR 28.79N 80.89W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH VOLUSIA FL CO-OP OBSERVER

SNOW FLURRIES REPORTED AT APPROXIMATELY 9 AM IN NORTHERN
BREVARD COUNTY NEAR THE TOWN OF SCOTTSMOOR

[MetSul Weather Center]

SNOW PHOTOS:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/weather/1 ... etail.html

[Ed Mahmoud]

SNOW PHOTOS:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/weather/1 ... etail.html

Looks more like grauple or sleet.

[JonathanBelles]

Looks like graupel to me, but I havent ever seen graupel up close before.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Low of 32 degrees on the thermometer at 8 am but it
may have gotten down to 28-29 degrees. It was very
cold with the wind chill.

[JonathanBelles]

000
NWUS52 KMLB 031509
LSRMLB

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
1009 AM EST THU JAN 03 2008

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

0730 AM SNOW DAYTONA BEACH 29.21N 81.03W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH VOLUSIA FL BROADCAST MEDIA

SNOW FLURRIES REPORTED FROM PORT ORANGE NORTH TO DAYTONA
BEACH AND ORMOND BEACH. SEVERAL REPORTS RECEIVED OF
FLURRIES STARTING APPROXIMATELY 730 AM IN ORMOND BEACH
AND STILL BEING OCCURRING AS OF 0905 AM IN PORT ORANGE.
REPORTS RECEIVED FROM OBSERVER...SPOTTERS AND VIA NEWS
CHANNEL 13.

0730 AM SNOW DAYTONA BEACH 29.21N 81.03W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH VOLUSIA FL BROADCAST MEDIA

SEVERAL REPORTS OF SNOW FLURRIES FROM ORMOND BEACH TO
DAYTONA BEACH AND PORT ORANGE. FIRST FLURRY REPORTS AT
APPROXIMATELY 730 AM IN ORMOND BEACH AND STILL OCCURRING
AS OF 905 AM IN PORT ORANGE. SNOW FLURRY REPORTS WERE
RECEIVED FROM DAYTONA BEACH OBSERVER...SPOTTERS AND VIA
NEWS CHANNEL 13.

0900 AM SNOW 2 NNW SCOTTSMOOR 28.79N 80.89W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH VOLUSIA FL CO-OP OBSERVER

SNOW FLURRIES REPORTED AT APPROXIMATELY 9 AM IN NORTHERN
BREVARD COUNTY NEAR THE TOWN OF SCOTTSMOOR.

0930 AM SNOW SHARPES 28.43N 80.77W
01/03/2008 E0.0 INCH BREVARD FL PUBLIC

SNOW FLURRIES REPORTED NORTH OF COCOA IN SHARPES AT
APPROXIMATELY 930 AM.


&&

$$

DLJ

[JonathanBelles]

000
NOUS42 KMLB 040118 RRA
PNSMLB

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
815 PM EST THU JAN 3 2008

...A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THIS MORNING`S OCEAN EFFECT SNOW EVENT...

DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THURSDAY...WEATHER CONDITIONS SET
UP IN MANNER VERY SIMILAR TO JANUARY 24, 2003...THE LAST TIME THAT
OCEAN EFFECT SNOW HAD BEEN OBSERVED IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA.

WHILE THE MECHANISM FOR PRODUCTION OF OCEAN EFFECT SNOW IS RATHER
COMPLEX...THE BASIC "INGREDIENTS" FOR A WINTER TIME OCEAN EFFECT
SNOW EVENT ARE LISTED BELOW...

1) A VERY COLD AIR MASS OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA THAT PRODUCES
TEMPERATURES NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING. IN ADDITION TO "SETTING THE
STAGE" OVER LAND...THIS COLD AIR WILL ALSO RESULT IN GENERATION OF A
LARGE MARINE STRATOCUMULUS FIELD OVER THE COMPARATIVELY WARM WATERS
OF THE ADJACENT ATLANTIC.

2) WINDS FROM THE NORTHWEST TO NORTH-NORTHWEST AT THE SURFACE...
NEEDED TO KEEP THE COLD AIR IN PLACE.

3) WINDS FROM THE NORTH TO NORTH-NORTHEAST FROM JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE
(FOR EXAMPLE 1,500 TO 2,000 FEET) UP TO CLOUD LEVEL...USUALLY ABOUT
3,000 TO 5,000 FEET. THIS WILL ALLOW THE MARINE CLOUD DECK TO PUSH
ONSHORE THE EAST COAST.

THE COLD AIR...WARMED AND MOISTENED FROM THE OCEAN BELOW...RISES AND
ALLOWS MOISTURE TO CONDENSE OUT OF IT IN THE FORM OF SNOW CRYSTALS
...OR OFTEN TIMES A MIXTURE OF DRIZZLE...SNOW...SLEET OR GRAUPEL
(ALSO KNOWN SNOW PELLETS).

WHEN ALL OF THESE FACTORS ALL COME TOGETHER AT THE PREFERRED TIME
(GENERALLY FROM THE OVERNIGHT UNTIL A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNRISE)...
FROZEN PRECIPITATION CAN FALL FROM THE CLOUDS. SUCH AN OCCURRENCE IS
RELATIVELY RARE IN THIS AREA...SINCE ALL THE "INGREDIENTS" NEEDED TO
PRODUCE "OCEAN EFFECT" SNOW NEED TO COME TOGETHER AT THE RIGHT TIME.

BASED ON REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS...LAW ENFORCEMENT...NEWS MEDIA...AND
THE GENERAL PUBLIC...IT APPEARS THAT THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF FROZEN
PRECIPITATION WAS FLAGLER COUNTY...WHERE REPORTS CAME IN FROM
BUNNELL AND PALM COAST. THE SOUTHERNMOST RELIABLE REPORT CAME IN
FROM THE FELLSMERE-SEBASTIAN AREA IF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY.

PICTURES FROM VOLUSIA COUNTY INDICATE THAT MUCH OF THE FROZEN
PRECIPITATION IN THAT AREA FELL IN THE FORM OF GRAUPEL...OR SNOW
PELLETS. GRAUPEL FORMS WHEN SUPERCOOLED WATER DROPLETS CONDENSE ON
THE OUTSIDE OF A PRE-EXISTING SNOW PELLETS. PELLETS OF GRAUPEL ARE
OPAQUE (WHITE COLORED)...WHEN COMPARED TO SLEET (ICE PELLETS)...
WHICH IS MORE TRANSLUCENT (CLEAR).

OTHER REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE FROZEN PRECIPITATION ALSO FELL IN
THE FORM OF SNOWFLAKES...AND WAS OFTEN MIXED WITH DRIZZLE AND
SPRINKLES OF LIGHT RAIN.

THUS FAR...REPORTS OF SNOW HAVE COME FROM THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES
NEAR AND JUST NORTH OF THE MELBOURNE COUNTY WARNING AREA...

FLAGLER COUNTY...
BUNNELL
PALM COAST

VOLUSIA COUNTY...
ORMOND BEACH
DAYTONA BEACH
HOLLY HILL
PORT ORANGE
EDGEWATER

BREVARD COUNTY...
SCOTTSMOOR
SHARPES
ROCKLEDGE
MELBOURNE
PALM BAY
SATELLITE BEACH

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY...
FELLSMERE/SEBASTIAN

TEMPERATURES QUICKLY WARMED INTO THE 40S AND 50S DURING THE MID
MORNING...CHANGING THE PRECIPITATION ENTIRELY OVER TO LIQUID AND
BRINGING THE EVENT TO AN END.

$$

CRISTALDI