Uncensored Florida Rainfall Totals, Damage
It may not be a Tropical Storm, but the low pressure moving off the west coast of Florida this afternoon has dropped Tropical-Storm-like rainfall. And to think, some blog Commenters and even famous meteorologists said we shouldn't be covering the storm. Should we hide the fact that the system is dumping feet of rain and causing coastal damage? I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Weather Will Not Be Censored! Here's the rainfall list & maps they don't want you to see!
Bunnel, FL: 16.5" Palm Coast, FL: 12.2" Flager Beach, FL: 10.7"
The map above is from the NWS Hourly Gauge-Adjusted Doppler Precip Site. The map below is from AccuWeather.com RadarPlus.
According to William Schmitz, Climatologist/Meteorologist with the NOAA Southeast Regional Climate Center, Daytona Beach was sitting at the #2 wettest May ever as of yesterday, and the records I'm looking at today show that they have surpassed the previous record of 12.33" set in 1976 - and it's only May 20th! He also has a list of daily and total rainfall for all stations in Florida, which he will be updating.
Because of the "squeeze play" between this system and the high-pressure to the northeast, waves are also high and beach erosion and pier damage is occurring in northern Florida. The NWS isn't censoring their reports, saying "JACKSONVILLE BEACH 16:47 Z: OFF DUTY NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTS NEAR SHORE BREAKERS ARE 5 TO 7 FEET AND... OFFSHORE BREAKERS... TO 10 FEET." Earlier this morning: "JACKSONVILLE BEACH 11:49 Z: TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED DAMAGE TO JACKSONVILLE BEACH PIER. SEVERAL WOODEN BOARDS WERE DANGLING UNDERNEATH PIER." Here's a video (from yesterday, before the damage reports today):
The Jacksonville coastal station is out-of-service but an offshore buoy showed waves nearly 17 feet high!
The winds are also causing damage - downed trees and power lines. Frank Strait (PREMIUM | PRO) has a list of wind gusts. Thrown in a waterspout report around noon at Boyton Beach, FL too.
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