2004 summary

...2004 SOUTH FLORIDA WEATHER SUMMARY...

THE WEATHER IN SOUTH FLORIDA...WHICH COMPRISE THE SEVEN COUNTIES OF MIAMI-DADE...BROWARD...PALM BEACH...COLLIER...HENDRY...GLADES AND MAINLAND MONROE...WAS SLIGHTLY WARMER AND DRYER THAN NORMAL IN 2004. A FEW EPISODES OF VIOLENT WEATHER RESULTED IN THE DEATHS OF 8 PEOPLE AND INJURIES TO 23 OTHERS. TOTAL DAMAGE WAS ESTIMATED AT ONE BILLION ...SIXTY EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS...MAINLY IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE THREE HURRICANES THAT AFFECTED SOUTH FLORIDA.

THE MOST NOTEWORTHY WEATHER FEATURE IN 2004 WAS THE STRENGTH OF THE BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE. THE HIGH BECAME ABNORMALLY STRONG IN THE SPRING AND REMAINED STRONG THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. THIS CAUSED STRONG EAST WINDS WHICH IN MARCH AND MAY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEATHS OF EIGHT PEOPLE IN RIP CURRENTS ALONG ATLANTIC OCEAN BEACHES. IT ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO STEERING THREE HURRICANES TOWARD SOUTH FLORIDA AND IN GENERAL CAUSED RAINFALL IN SOUTH FLORIDA TO BE BELOW NORMAL FOR THE YEAR.

THREE OF THE FOUR HURRICANES THAT IMPACTED THE STATE OF FLORIDA IN 2004 AFFECTED PORTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA. IN AUGUST HURRICANE CHARLEY PRODUCED A LIMITED AREA OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS IN NORTHWEST COLLIER COUNTY. IN EARLY SEPTEMBER HURRICANE FRANCES CAUSED TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS IN ALL SEVEN COUNTIES AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS IN NORTHERN PORTIONS OF PALM BEACH AND GLADES COUNTIES AND OVER LAKE OKEECHOBEE. THREE WEEKS LATER...HURRICANE JEANNE PRODUCED HURRICANE FORCE WINDS IN AREAS SIMILAR TO FRANCES BUT TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WERE RESTRICTED TO PALM BEACH...BROWARD...GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES.

AT THE FOUR SOUTH FLORIDA AIRPORTS OF MIAMI...FORT LAUDERDALE...WEST PALM BEACH AND NAPLES...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN 2004 WAS 75.8 DEGREES WHICH WAS 0.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED AT ANY OF THE FOUR LOCATIONS WAS 97 DEGREES AT NAPLES ON JUNE 23. THE COLDEST DAY OF 2004 WAS DECEMBER 15 WITH THE A LOW TEMPERATURE OF 40 DEGREES AT NAPLES...41 DEGREES AT WEST PALM BEACH...44 DEGREES AT FORT LAUDERDALE AND 46 DEGREES AT MIAMI.

RAINFALL FOR THE YEAR AT THESE FOUR SOUTH FLORIDA LOCATIONS AVERAGED 49.82 INCHES. THIS IS 8.89 INCHES BELOW THE 30-YEAR NORMAL...ALTHOUGH AT WEST PALM BEACH WITH THE INFLUENCE OF FRANCES AND JEANNE...THE YEARLY RAINFALL TOTALED 65.17 INCHES WHICH IS ABOUT FOUR INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE GREATEST 24 HOUR AMOUNT OF RAIN...8.79 INCHES...FELL AT WEST PALM BEACH ON SEPTEMBER 25 DURING HURRICANE JEANNE.

AS FOR OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...EIGHT PEOPLE DIED AND TWENTY OTHERS WERE INJURED IN WEATHER RELATED HAZARDS. RIP CURRENTS ACCOUNTED FOR ALL EIGHT DEATHS...THREE IN MIAMI-DADE...THREE IN PALM BEACH AND TWO IN BROWARD COUNTY. ELEVEN OTHER PERSONS NEARLY DROWNED IN RIP CURRENTS. THERE WERE 37 REPORTS OF WATERSPOUTS.

AMAZINGLY IN 2004 THERE WERE NO KNOWN DEATHS FROM LIGHTNING STRIKES IN SOUTH FLORIDA...THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1970 THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED. THIS FACT IS LIKELY ALSO RELATED TO THE STRONG BERMUDA HIGH WHICH STEERED LIGHTNING STORMS TO THE LESS POPULATED SOUTHWEST FLORIDA COAST. EIGHT PEOPLE WERE INJURED BY LIGHTNING AND DAMAGE TOTALED AN ESTIMATED 400 THOUSAND DOLLARS.

THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 10 CONFIRMED TORNADOES IN SOUTH FLORIDA THAT CAUSED 255 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN DAMAGE. BESIDES TORNADOES...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...THOSE WITH WINDS GREATER THAN 58 MPH OR HAIL AT LEAST THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER...OCCURRED ON 60 OCCASIONS CAUSING 98 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN DAMAGE. AN UNUSUAL WIND EVENT IN APRIL...CAUSED BY WHAT IS KNOWN AS A WAKE LOW PRESSURE AREA...CAUSED 200 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN DAMAGE IN PALM BEACH...COLLIER...GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES AS WINDS GUSTED TO 73 MPH FOR SEVERAL HOURS.

LOCALIZED FLOODING EVENTS OCCURRED TWELVE TIMES. THE WORST EVENTS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANES FRANCES AND JEANNE.

THERE WERE THREE SIGNIFICANT WILDFIRE EVENTS...MAINLY AFFECTING THE EVERGLADES...HOWEVER...THE FIRES DID THREATEN HOUSES IN THE WESTERN SUBURBS OF THE SOUTHEAST METRO AREAS.

NO SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENTS OCCURRED IN SOUTH FLORIDA DURING 2004.

THE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR 2005 IN SOUTH FLORIDA...AS FORECAST BY THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...IS FOR SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH A NEAR NORMAL AMOUNT OF RAINFALL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE MIAMI WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST AT 305-229-4520 OR 954-257-8576.

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office