Printable ProductProvided by - NWS Southern Region HQ - Print 000 NOUS42 KTAE 240256 PNSTAE ALZ065->069-FLZ007>019-026>029-034-GAZ125-155>161-250000 PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 955 PM EST SAT FEB 23 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT FLOODING OBSERVED ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH FLORIDA FROM HEAVY RAINS ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21 THROUGH FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22... ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21ST...A WARM FRONT STALLED ACROSS THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE. AS THIS WARM FRONT STALLED ACROSS THE REGION...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ALONG THIS BOUNDARY AND MOVED SLOWLY EASTWARD. THESE STORMS MOVED OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS FOR SEVERAL HOURS ON THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 21ST. SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN RECENT MEMORY OCCURRED IN SOUTHERN BAY COUNTY FLORIDA THAT NIGHT. THIS HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUED TO SPREAD EASTWARD INTO THE FLORIDA BIG BEND. RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS BY LATE THURSDAY NIGHT HAD ECLIPSED A DAILY RAINFALL RECORD AT THE TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL AIRPORT THAT HAD STOOD FOR 114 YEARS. WITH THIS FRONT BECOMING STATIONARY ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA...STORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE OVER OR "TRAIN" OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS FOR HOURS. THIS IS KNOWN AS ECHO TRAINING. ESSENTIALLY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND MOVE OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THE NET RESULT IS SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS AND LIKELY SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...ESPECIALLY IF IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GREATER PANAMA CITY AREA ON THURSDAY NIGHT. IN URBAN AREAS...HEAVY RAINFALL IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME CAN CREATE MINOR FLOODING. WHEN HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES FOR THREE OR MORE HOURS...SIGNIFICANT FLOODING CAN OCCUR. WHAT MADE THIS EVENT EXCEPTIONAL WAS THE TIGHT GRADIENT BETWEEN HEAVY RAIN AND NO RAIN THAT WAS OBSERVED. THE HEAVIEST RAIN OCCURRED ALONG A LINE FROM PANAMA CITY TO MADISON. ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTH OF THIS LINE TOWARD THE GULF COAST...ESPECIALLY NEAR APALACHICOLA...ALMOST NO RAIN WAS OBSERVED THURSDAY NIGHT. THIS EVENT WAS FURTHER COMPOUNDED BY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OVER SIMILAR LOCATIONS ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS 48 HOUR PERIOD OF RAINFALL PRODUCED STORM TOTAL AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 14 INCHES IN SOME PLACES. THIS RAINFALL EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATED THE RAINFALL DEFICIT FOR MANY LOCATIONS THAT HAD BEEN ACCUMULATING SINCE JANUARY 1 2008. THE OVERALL IMPACT OF THIS RAIN ON THE ONGOING DROUGHT HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED...BUT THIS RAIN HAS LIKELY MADE A MAJOR DENT IN THE HYDROLOGIC IMPACTS EXPERIENCED ACROSS THE REGION SINCE SPRING 2007. RAINFALL TOTALS FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY OFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS AND COOPERATIVE STATIONS THESE ARE 24 HOUR OBSERVATIONS STARTING AT 7 AM EST THURSDAY ENDING AT 7 AM SATURDAY. THURSDAY FRIDAY STORM TOTAL ALBANY GA (KABY) 1.40 1.56 2.96 APALACHICOLA FL (KAAF) 0.01 0.55 0.56 APALACHICOLA FL (APLF1) 0.03 0.63 0.66 BLAKELY GA (BLKG1) 1.80 3.09 5.89 CHIPLEY FL (CHPF1) 2.94 3.40 6.34 CRISP COUNTY GA (WWCG1) 0.90 1.77 2.67 CROSS CITY FL (KCTY) 0.44 0.60 1.04 CROSS CITY FL (CRSF1) 0.46 0.65 1.11 CUTHBERT GA (CBTG1) 0.57 1.90 2.47 DE FUNIAK SPRINGS FL (DEFF1) 2.80 3.80 6.60 DONALSONVILLE GA (DNVG1) 2.93 2.78 5.71 DOTHAN AL (KDHN) 1.30 1.86 3.16 DOWLING PARK FL (DOWF1) 3.65 0.55 4.20 ENTERPRISE AL (ENTA1) 2.93 2.78 5.71 FORT GAINES GA (FTGG1) 0.80 2.27 3.07 GENEVA AL (GVAA1) 2.20 3.04 5.24 MARIANNA (KMAI) 3.15 3.18 6.33 MONTICELLO FL (MTCF1) 4.47 0.57 5.04 NEW HOPE (NEHF1) 2.42 3.10 5.52 PERRY (K40J) 1.57 0.68 2.25 PANAMA CITY (PNAF1) 7.20 1.86 9.06 TALLAHASSEE (KTLH) 6.20 0.85 7.05 TALLAHASSEE (TASF1) 5.83 0.96 6.79 VALDOSTA (KVLD) 2.94 2.17 5.11 SPOTTER OBSERVATIONS THESE ARE 24 HOUR OBSERVATIONS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT THURSDAY THROUGH MIDNIGHT SATURDAY. THURSDAY FRIDAY STORM TOTAL BAY COUNTY... PANAMA CITY-FOREST PARK 7.53 1.40 8.93 PANAMA CITY-SAINT ANDREWS 7.77 0.74 8.51 LYNN HAVEN 7.30 1.21 8.51 SOUTH CALLAWAY 7.01 0.57 7.58 NORTH LAGOON 8.07 1.18 9.25 CALLAWAY SHORES 6.86 0.54 7.40 CALLAWAY 10.94 0.83 11.77 CHEROKEE HEIGHTS 7.03 1.11 8.14 SOUTHPORT 4.33 2.09 6.42 PANAMA CITY 5.97 1.21 7.18 WALTON COUNTY... FREEPORT 2.28 0.70 2.98 MIRAMAR BEACH 3.97 2.00 5.97 GULF COUNTY... WHITE CITY 0.59 0.54 1.13 WEWAHITCHKA 5.68 0.81 6.49 LEON COUNTY... TALL TIMBERS 3.72 4.61 8.33 LAKE JACKSON 3.70 3.17 6.87 GADSDEN COUNTY HAVANA 5.70 SUWANNEE COUNTY LIVE OAK 7.10 LOWNDES COUNTY DASHER 6.00 THE FOLLOWING LIST IS A SUMMARY OF FLOODING IMPACTS EXPERIENCED IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...PARTICULARLY IN BAY COUNTY WHERE THE WORST URBAN FLOODING WAS EXPERIENCED. THIS IS A PRELIMINARY LIST THAT IS NOT MEANT TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE OF THE IMPACTS. THIS LIST WILL BE UPDATED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS TO INCLUDE A COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE FLOODING. BAY COUNTY... THE MOST SIGNIFICANT URBANIZED FLOODING OCCURRED IN THE PANAMA CITY METRO AREA...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF LYNN HAVEN...SPRINGFIELD... PARKER AND CALLAWAY. ACCORDING TO MEDIA AND LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS...OVER 40 ROADS AND INTERSECTIONS WERE CLOSED THURSDAY NIGHT DURING THE PEAK OF THE FLOODING. SOME OF THE ROADS WITHIN THE COUNTY HAD SECTIONS WASHED OUT. NUMEROUS CARS STALLED IN THE FLOODED ROADS WITH SOME OCCUPANTS NEEDING RESCUE. IN PANAMA CITY...AROUND 20 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED FROM THEIR APARTMENTS ON CHERI LANE WHERE SOME STRUCTURES HAD 3 FEET OF WATER INSIDE THEM. THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER ON MULBERRY AVENUE FOR BAY COUNTY HAD 3 TO 6 INCHES OF WATER INSIDE. THE CENTER WAS RELOCATED TEMPORARILY DUE TO THIS FLOODING. IN SPRINGFIELD...30 TO 40 HOMES IN THE ROBINDALE SUBDIVISION TOOK ON WATER. THE BAY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT CANCELLED CLASSES ON FRIDAY DUE TO FLOODED ROADS AND ADDITIONAL FLOODING CONCERNS FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WASHINGTON COUNTY... NUMEROUS COUNTY ROADS ACROSS CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY FLOODED ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON...PORTIONS OF 5TH AND 7TH AVENUES IN CHIPLEY FLOODED AND WERE CLOSED. JACKSON COUNTY... AT LEAST 8 ROADS WERE LISTED AS IMPASSIBLE WITHIN THE COUNTY ON FRIDAY WITH SOME DIRT ROADS WASHING OUT. A FEW HOMES HAD WATER APPROACH THEIR STRUCTURES. ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA... AS OF SATURDAY EVENING...NUMEROUS RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS REMAIN IN EFFECT. RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO NOT DRIVE INTO ANY FLOODED ROADS. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT FOR YOUR CAR TO PASS SAFELY. REMEMBER...IT ONLY TAKES A FEW INCHES OF MOVING WATER TO DISABLE A CAR. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY THIS COMING WEEK. DUE TO ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS...IF HEAVY RAINFALL DEVELOPS...ANOTHER ROUND OF FLOODING COULD OCCUR ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA. $$ GODSEY