NWS Weather Forecast Office in Key West (Photo: WFO Key West)

Friday, June 23, 2006, started out just like any other day for staffers at the National Weather Service forecast office in Key West. But, all that changed in a heartbeat as they were called upon to deal with a series of simultaneous, early morning events.

First, a propane storage facility sprung a leak, producing a plume five feet high, 100 feet wide and 300 feet long near U.S. Highway 1, in the Upper Keys. More than 3,000 gallons of propane leaked from the tank. While light winds allowed the gas plume to remain intact, emergency management officials quickly called the Weather Forecast Office in Key West for advice about where the plume would drift.

WFO Key West forecaster David McGinnis made a micro-scale wind forecast for the affected area and input the forecast into a Hysplit dispersion model. The model indicated the gas plume would drift westward through a residential neighborhood and a school before moving into the Intercoastal Waterway.

While continuing to monitor conditions and update the forecast, McGinnis also researched the behavior of propane in the humid Keys' environment and found that it would tend to remain intact and sink. He notified the emergency managers who then evacuated the residents and school and closed the waterway and highway until the gas moved further offshore and dissipated.

At the same time, other forecasters were busy issuing Special Marine Warnings for waterspouts, which threatened to move onshore. They also issued an Airport Weather Warning for lightning to prevent planes from being fueled and loaded during a thunderstorm.

And while all this was going on, Coast Guard personnel were in the process of transferring ammunition from their base in Key West onto a ship. As the ammo was vulnerable to lightning -- they also requested weather support.

Just another typical day for WFO Key West employees? Well - not quite. But, it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.