Bradford County Irma Damage
Note: The Jacksonville area is comprised of Northeast/North Central Florida and Southeast Georgia.
1. Hurricane Irma
September 10-11, 2017
Hurricane Irma caused significant issues for the region. This is despite making a final landfall in Southwest Florida. Due to Irma’s large size, the storm took longer to weaken. Impacts were also felt over a larger area. Several factors (including very heavy rains) came together to create an extreme flooding setup. Some neighborhoods in Jacksonville had not seen flooding so severe in more than 150 years. Significant storm surge ultimately led to flash flood emergencies being issued for those in Downtown Jacksonville and near the St. Johns River. In addition to areas around Starke, other nearby communities dealt with flooding issues comparable to historic Hurricane Dora (1964). Wind damage also occurred up and down the Florida Peninsula. A gust to 87 mph was measured at Mayport. As a result of the very strong winds, there were a high number of power outages here and across the state. An EF-2 tornado even caused some significant and concentrated damage in Crescent Beach.
2. Hurricane Matthew
October 7-8, 2016
Coastal counties felt the brunt of Matthew as the eye tracked just east of Florida. Storm surge caused extensive damage near and along the Atlantic coast. Vilano Beach was one of our most impacted communities:
At Mayport, surge values exceeded those that were measured during benchmark Hurricane Dora. Damaging winds knocked out power to many in coastal/neighboring communities. A gust to 82 mph was recorded near Fort Caroline. As bad as some spots were affected, a track just a bit further west would have resulted in the western eyewall tracking along the beaches. This would have led to even more serious wind impacts and higher storm surge values.
3. Tropical Storm Debby
June 24-27, 2012
Debby was a prolific rain producer for the region. The tropical storm was initially forecast to track toward Texas and strengthen into a hurricane. Instead, after already dumping flooding rains, the center of poorly organized Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee. Some spots received upwards of two feet. Rivers and roads flooded. Even part of I-10 was shut down. Locally, more than a dozen flash flood warnings were issued. At one point, Northern Clay and Duval counties were under a Flash Flood Emergency after over four inches of rain fell in just an hour and a half.
4. Kings Bay EF-3 Tornado
December 2, 2018
The large and significant EF-3 tornado that damaged parts of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Camden County was called our area’s strongest in recent memory by NWS Jacksonville meteorologists. A wind gust to 144 mph was even measured on a docked Coast Guard Vessel. Four injuries were ultimately reported. This storm defined the overall event which was one where tornado warnings and areas of rotation were concentrated north of I-10.
5. Winter Storm
January 3, 2018
Noteworthy snow accumulations occurred in the Waycross area. Totals were high enough for some residents to create a small snowman. A fair amount of ice accumulated in communities like Lake City and Folkston. As a result, road conditions were hazardous and some electrical customers lost power.
Conclusion
While our decade was fairly busy, the Tallahassee area experienced one that was even more active (cloudsweather.com/2019/12/31/tallahassee-area-top-5-weather-events-of-the-decade).
2012’s Beryl is one weather event that just missed being on this list. It made landfall in late May as a stronger tropical storm near Jacksonville Beach, but the storm did not cause a significant amount of property damage. Rain from Beryl did help to make the ground more saturated in advance of the Tropical Storm Debby flooding event a few weeks later though.
Despite impacts in coastal communities, the Jacksonville area was mostly spared by Hurricane Dorian. If some of the earlier forecasts would have verified, it easily could have been the decade’s top local event. Unfortunately, parts of the Bahamas were devastated. During the 2010s, other tropical cyclones that impacted our area included Andrea, Colin, Hermine, Julia, Michael, and Nestor. January 22nd, 2017 activity, various damaging wind events (like on April 19th, 2019), tornadoes (including a couple around Lawtey), hail producing storms (significant 2013 Bradford County cell is one), and wildfires are notable too.