Power Outage in Clewiston, FL

Highest winds occurred in western Hendry county in the LaBelle area where sustained winds probably reached the threshold of hurricane force for a brief time, with gusts of at least 80 mph. Maximum wind gusts across eastern sections of the county were in the 60-70 mph range. ||Estimated highest number of customers without power is 10,588. 29th. Estimated damage total is $419,000. A total of 112 structures were damaged, most in the western part of the county. ||The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed two indirect deaths from the storm: a 72-year old male from a heart attack while outside during the peak of the storm and could not be reached by paramedics due to dangerous conditions, and a 29-year-old male who was shot dead by another person after an argument. The victim was a contractor who had been sent to the area to help with relief efforts.

A severe thunderstorm moved ESE over Clewiston, producing damage along an approximately half-mile long path. First indication of damage was at the intersection of Berner Road and US 27 where a shed was blown onto the edge of the roadway, power lines were downed, and shopping carts were tossed into cars at the Sugarland Plaza. Farther to the ESE along W. Ventura Avenue, a window was broken at a nursing and rehab center, 2 downed large tree branches, and a carport cover was blown into the front yard of a home. A large tree branch was downed along Gloria Street next to Hendry Regional Medical Center. The final damage location was along W. Alverdez Avenue where roof siding was blown into the front yards of 2 homes. ||Damage amounts are estimated, along with the time.

As TS Eta moved westward across the Florida Keys and towards the Gulf of Mexico, rain bands produced maximum sustained winds generally between 25-30 mph across Hendry County, with gusts of 40-50 mph. A peak wind gust of 40 mph/35 knots was measured at Airglades Airport in Clewiston 11:55 PM on November 8th. Overall wind impacts were minor and mainly confined to trees and power lines.

Hurricane Irma produced maximum recorded sustained winds generally between 55 and 70 mph, although sustained hurricane-force winds probably occurred in at least the western portion of the county. Gusts to hurricane force occurred over virtually the entire county, with a peak recorded gust of 90 mph at Airglades Airport near Clewiston at 815 PM EDT. Gusts of at least 100 mph likely occurred over western portions of the county. These winds produced heavy tree and power pole damage across the county. 131 residential structes had major damage with 42 destroyed. Almost 10,000 customers lost power, almost 100% of total customers.

The Emergency Manager for Hendry County reported a severe thunderstorm snapped several trees and downed at least 6 powerline poles near the intersection of old U.S. Highway 27 and Hookers Point Road east of Clewiston.

A severe thunderstorm blew down numerous trees and power lines in downtown La Belle.

The Sheriff's Office reported several power lines blown down.

A thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 75 mph blew down tree limbs and power lines.

A second and very strong arctic cold front moved through south Florida on January 9th. Very cold air of arctic origin in the wake of the front produced freezing temperatures and very low wind chills to all of south Florida. Freezing temperatures were noted over almost all of south Florida on the mornings of January 10th and 11th. Four consecutive nights of below freezing temperatures occurred over interior sections of south Florida from January 10th through January 13th. ||The combination of this episode and the first one between January 1 and January 7 produced the coldest 12-day period of temperatures on record at several south Florida locations. ||Crop damage was extensive and severe, with total damage estimates in excess of $500 million dollars area-wide. Thousands of customers experienced intermittent power outages during this period due to record-setting usage demands.

Sea breeze initiated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of June 7th. One of these storms produced a brief tornado just south of LaBelle.||Thunderstorms across Hendry and Glades Counties caused 5200 customers to lose power in Hendry County and an additional 1500 customers in Glades County.

Hurricane Wilma moved through inland portions of South Florida on the morning of October 24th, 2005. Maximum sustained winds ranged from 63 mph in Glades County to 75-88 mph over Hendry County and inland portions of Palm Beach and Collier Counties. Peak gusts were as high as 117 mph in Belle Glade and 116 mph at the Dade-Collier Training Facility in Eastern Collier County. Other wind gusts were in the 100-110 mph range. Damage was extensive over inland areas, mainly in the form of fallen trees and power lines. The most significant damage was to mobile homes in the Lake Okeechobee region. Some power poles were also snapped and/or toppled.

Hurricane Jeanne formed from a tropical depression just east of the Leeward Islands on September 13. She moved across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola then turned north into the Atlantic and became a hurricane on September 20. Jeanne made a clockwise loop for three days in the Atlantic north of Hispaniola before moving west northwest. It strengthened to a Category 3 Hurricane while over the northwest Bahamas and then make landfall around 11 P.M., September 25 near the south end of Hutchinson Island, nearly coincident with the landfall point of Hurricane Frances nearly three week before. The 40-mile diameter eye was not quite as large as Frances, but the southern eyewall again affected northeast Palm Beach County. After landfall Jeanne initially moved along a track similar to Frances, just north of Lake Okeechobee as it weakened to a tropical storm then it turned to the northwest and moved over the northwest Florida Peninsula.Although slightly smaller and stronger then Hurricane Frances, winds and pressures over southeast Florida were remarkably similar to Frances. Unfortunately, the ASOS at West Palm Beach International Airport quit sending data during the height of the hurricane. Sustained tropical storm-force winds likely occurred over most of Palm Beach and northeast Glades counties and portions of Broward, Hendry and Collier counties. Although no sustained hurricane-force winds were officially observed in any of the six south Florida counties, portions of northern Palm Beach County mostly likely experienced them. A South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) instrument in the Martin County portion of Lake Okeechobee measured a 15-minute sustained wind of 79 mph with a peak gust of 105 mph. In metropolitan Palm Beach the highest official sustained wind speed was 60 mph with a peak gust of 94 mph from the C-MAN station at Lake Worth Pier. An unofficial peak wind gust of 125 mph was measured in West Palm Beach at the Solid Waste Treatment Plant. In Glades County near the western shore of Lake Okeechobee the highest sustained wind measured at a SFWMD instrument was 68 mph with a peak gust of 94 mph. Near Clewiston the highest measured sustained wind was 31 mph with a peak wind gust of 72 mph from a SFWMD instrument. The highest measured sustained wind in Broward County was 46 mph with a peak wind gust of 67 mph from the ASOS site at Pompano Beach Airpark. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport the ASOS site measured a maximum sustained wind of 40 mph with a peak gust of 56 mph. In Miami-Dade County a maximum sustained wind of 49 mph with a peak gust of 59 mph was measured at the C-MAN station at Fowey Rocks Light with sustained winds of 26 mph and gusts to 36 mph at Miami International Airport ASOS. At the Naples Municipal Airport, the ASOS maximum sustained wind was measured at 33 mph with a peak gust of 45 mph. The lowest barometric pressure of 960.4 mb was measured at a SFWMD site in the Martin County portion of Lake Okeechobee.A SFWMD gage measured a maximum storm-total rainfall amount of 10.22 inches over the eastern portion of Lake Okeechobee. A SFWMD gage about four miles west of West Palm Beach International Airport measured 9.10 inches with 8.79 inches of that occurring in a 24-hour period. At Moore Haven, 5.99 inches of rain was measured. Widespread storm-total amounts of one to four inches occurred in most of southeast and interior south Florida with Miami-Dade County and Collier County averaging one half to one inch. Mostly minor rainfall flooding was observed except locally severe in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and in the farmlands of western Palm Beach County.The estimated maximum storm surge ranged from two to four feet along the northeast Palm Beach Coast to one to two feet along the northeast Broward Coast. Within the confines of the Herbert Hoover Dike, water levels on Lake Okeechobee fluctuated up to seven feet above and below normal causing severe flooding of some marinas. Beach erosion was moderate in Palm Beach and minor in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.There were no confirmed tornadoes.There were no known direct deaths but four persons died in the aftermath. An unknown number of injuries occurred. Property damage from storm surge and winds at the coast occurred to condos, marinas, piers, seawalls, bridges and docks, as well as to boats and a few coastal roadways. Inland wind damage to building roofs, mobile homes, trees, power lines, signs, and outbuildings occurred over mainly over Palm Beach County and portions of eastern Glades and Hendry counties.A preliminary damage estimate for Jeanne in southeast Florida is $330 million, including $260 million in Palm Beach, $50 million in Broward and $10 million in Miami-Dade. Agricultural Damage in Palm Beach County was estimated at $30 million.Florida Power and Light reported outages occurred to 591,300 customers in Palm Beach, 165,900 in Broward, 25,100 in Miami-Dade, 5,200 in Collier, 3,000 in Hendry and 1,500 in Glades. An estimated 12,534 persons sought refuge in public shelters in Palm Beach County.

Hurricane Frances formed from a tropical depression in the deep tropical Atlantic on August 25 about 1400 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and reached hurricane strength on August 26. Frances became a Category 4 Hurricane on August 28 while about 700 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Frances then moved generally west northwest and weakened to a Category 2 hurricane while crossing the northwest Bahamas. After stalling for about 12 hours on September 4 in the Florida Straits between Grand Bahama Island and the southeast Florida coast, the center of the nearly 70-mile diameter eye crossed the Florida coast near Sewalls Point, at 1 A.M. EDT, September 5, 2004 with the southern eyewall affecting the extreme northeast portion of Palm Beach County. Frances moved farther inland just north of Lake Okeechobee and weakened to a tropical storm before crossing the entire Florida Peninsula and exiting into the Gulf of Mexico just north of Tampa late on September 5. It made a second landfall as a tropical storm in the eastern Florida Panhandle.Sustained tropical storm-force winds likely occurred in all six south Florida counties. Although no sustained hurricane-force winds were officially observed in any of the six south Florida counties, an NWS instrument on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee at Port Mayaca, just across the Palm Beach County border, measured a sustained wind of 85 mph. At West Palm Beach International Airport the highest sustained wind was 64 mph with a peak gust of 82 mph and the lowest observed barometric pressure was 972 mb. A South Florida Water Management District instrument measured a peak wind gust of 92 mph over the eastern portion of Lake Okeechobee. The estimated peak wind gust in the Palm Beach metro area was 91 mph at Jupiter Inlet with a peak wind gust of 87 mph measured by a C-MAN station at Lake Worth Pier. In Glades County near the western shore of Lake Okeechobee the highest measured sustained wind was 60 mph with a peak gust of 90 mph. In Clewiston, a sustained wind of 60 mph with a gust of 80 mph was estimated. The highest measured sustained wind at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was 41 mph with a peak gust of 55 mph. In Miami-Dade County a maximum sustained wind of 62 mph with a peak gust of 78 mph was measured at the C-MAN station at Fowey Rocks Light with sustained winds of 42 mph and a peak gust of 59 mph at Miami International Airport. At the Naples Municipal Airport the ASOS measured a maximum sustained wind of 38 mph with a peak gust of 54 mph.A maximum storm-total rainfall amount of 13.56 inches was measured at West Palm Beach International Airport with 10.36 inches of that occurring in a 24-hour period. Unofficial storm-total rainfalls included 9.56 inches at Boynton Beach, 8 inches at Deerfield Beach and 7.18 inches at Hillsboro Canal. Widespread storm-total amounts of 3 to 5 inches occurred in southeast and interior south Florida with southwest Florida averaging 1 to 3 inches. Rainfall flooding was mostly minor except for a few locations in Palm Beach County which had up to 3 feet of standing water. A section of I-95 in Palm Beach County was closed due to a large sinkhole.The maximum storm surge was estimated to have ranged from 2 to 4 feet along the northeast Palm Beach Coast to 1 to 2 feet along the northeast Broward Coast. Within the confines of the Herbert Hoover Dike, water levels on Lake Okeechobee fluctuated up to 5 feet above and below normal. Coastal beach erosion was moderate in Palm Beach and portions of Broward counties and was minor in Miami-Dade and Collier counties.There were no confirmed tornadoes.There were no known direct deaths, but at least 9 people died in the aftermath. Six of these deaths occurred in Palm Beach County, mainly as the result of vehicle-related accidents or from drownings. Two vehicle-related deaths were reported in Broward County and one person died in Collier County while clearing debris. An unknown number of injuries occurred.Property damage at the coast occurred mainly to marinas, piers, seawalls, bridges and docks, as well as to boats. Inland structure damage included 15,000 houses and 2,400 businesses in Palm Beach County. Wind damage to house roofs, mobile homes, trees, power lines, signs, screened enclosures and outbuildings occurred over much of southeast Florida including areas near Lake Okeechobee, but was greatest in Palm Beach County.A preliminary damage estimate for Frances in south Florida is $620 million, including $500 million in Palm Beach, $80 million in Broward, and $34 million in Miami-Dade. Crop damage in Palm Beach County was estimated at an additional $70 million to sugar cane and vegetables and additional heavy losses occurred to nurseries.Florida Power and Light reported power outages occurred to 659,000 customer in Palm Beach, 590,000 in Broward, 423,000 in Miami-Dade, 39,200 in Collier, 2,500 in Hendry and 1,700 in Collier. An estimated 17,000 persons sought refuge in public shelters in Palm Beach County and nearly 7,000 in Broward County.

On August 12, Hurricane Charley, after moving through the northwest Caribbean Sea, turned north and accelerated cross the western end of Cuba, and just west of the lower Florida Keys. Early on August 13, the hurricane intensified to Category 4 status and turned to a north northeast direction before making landfall near Port Charlotte around 3 PM EDT. The first outer rainband, with wind gusts estimated up to 60 mph, impacted the south Florida Peninsula between midnight and 2 AM EDT In Collier County, a peak wind gust of 84 mph was measured at 2:50 PM EDT on the top of a condominium at Vanderbilt Beach before the equipment failed. The Naples ASOS equipment failed well before the maximum winds or minimum pressure occurred. Wind gusts at La Belle were estimated at 80 mph.Rainfall in most locations in Collier County was around two inches with an unofficial amount of 7.5 inches reported in North Naples. Radar rainfall estimates of locally 8 to 10 inches were made in North Naples. Flooding was mostly minimal. The highest Storm Tide along the southwest Florida Coast was estimated at three feet near Wiggins Pass with heights of one to two feet from Naples to Marco Island to Everglades City. Tidal flooding was minimal. Lake Okeechobee levels increased up to three feet above normal along the north and northeast shores.A long-track tornado moved through the open country of the Everglades in eastern Hendry County before doing minor damage to buildings in Clewiston.Hurricane wind damage was greatest in North Naples and Vanderbilt Beach with numerous power poles, trees and signs blown down, and a few roofs damaged. Damage also occurred to screened porches throughout the Naples-Marco Island metropolitan areas. Damage occurred to Gulf-side structures along most of the coastline but beach erosion was mostly minor. Four persons in Naples suffered minor injuries when their vehicle was touched by a downed power line during the storm. Three persons in Collier County died from indirect causes after the hurricane. An estimated 130,000 customers in Collier County lost power. About 2,500 people took refuge in six shelters.Damage in Hendry and Glades counties consisted mainly of downed trees, power lines and signs, with minor roof damage to several homes. An estimated 1000 customers lost electricity in Glades County.

The coldest temperatures since 1989 affected all of south Florida. Minimum temperatures ranged from the upper 20s over interior sections to the mid 30s along the coasts. No crop damage was reported, probably because the cold weather earlier in the month had cold-hardened plants. Minor power outages were reported.

Tropical storm Gabrielle formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico from a trough of low pressure that had lingered over Florida since September 8. Gabrielle moved east northeast at 7 to 12 mph with the center crossing the Florida west coast near Venice at noon on September 14. The minimum central pressure in Collier County was 999.4 mb at Naples. Maximum winds in Collier County were at Everglades City with sustained winds of 44 knots and peak gusts of 61 knots. Storm surge values of 3 to 5 feet were observed along much of the Collier County coast which caused some coastal flooding and minor to moderate beach erosion. The estimate to repair the beach erosion is $3 million. Flooding by rainfall of 2 to 5 inches along with the storm surge damaged 60 to 70 residences and 12,500 customers lost electrical power.

An ambulance was blown off the road. Numerous trees were blown down knocking out power to much of La Belle. Nickel-size hail was also sighted.