Tropical Storm — Coastal Duval, Florida
2022-11-09 to 2022-11-10 · Coastal Duval, Florida
Event narrative
Severe beach erosion and significant dune loss occurred along the Jacksonville Beaches with tropical storm force winds. Major to moderate storm surge flooding occurred within the St. Johns River basin including the Trout River.
Tropical storm force winds and damage occurred. The Jacksonville Beach pier sustained minor damage with a few planks blown out. On Wednesday, November 9th, at 2:40 am, a mesonet station near Fort Caroline measured a wind gust of 52 mph. At 4:20 am, the station measured a gust to 56 mph from the NNE. At 9:30 am, the Park Service on Little Talbot Island reported that storm surge inundation was over the road during the high tide and impacted the entrance to Fort George Island. At 9:35 am, the Park Service reported minor storm surge inundation during the high tide affected most of the Fort Caroline National Memorial. At 10:30 am, the broadcast media reported that Hogan's Creek overflowed with storm surge flooding and flooded a nearby parking lot in Springfield. Around the same time, the south bank of the St. Johns River flooded with storm surge and inundated Southampton Road around high tide. The river gauge at Jacksonville measured 1.83 ft MHHW which is minor flooding for this location at high tide around 10:30 am. At 10:34 am, broadcast media shared a photo of a flooded parking lot near the Beach Blvd boat ramp near Pottsburg Creek during high tide. This area is prone to tidal flooding. At 4:30 pm, a mesonet site at Jacksonville Beach measured a wind gust of 50 mph.
On Thursday, November 10th, at 12:28 am, the ASOS station at the Jacksonville International Airport measured a wind gust of 51 mph from the north. At 5:36 am, the Mayport Naval Station AWOS site measured a wind gust of 52 mph. At 8:20 am, a mesonet site at Neptune Beach measured a wind gust of 52 mph. At 8:52 am, the AWOS station at Naval Station Mayport measured a wind gust of 55 mph. At 9:05 am, the Craig Executive Airport ASOS measured a wind gust of 56 mph. At 9:22 am, the Jacksonville International Airport ASOS measured a wind gust of 60 mph. By 9:25 am, broadcast media reported that multiple areas in San Marco and the Southbank area of the St. Johns River experienced storm surge flooding. Streets including Alamo Street, River Road, Southampton Road, San Marco Blvd and Lasalle Street were flooded. At 9:53 am, the AWOS station at Mayport measured a wind gust of 59 mph. At 9:56 am, the Huguenot Park mesonet station measured a wind gust of 73 mph. This was the strongest gust associated with Hurricane Nicole for the NWS Jacksonville forecast area (SE GA and NE FL). At 10 am, a mesonet station at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville measured a wind gust of 55 mph. At 10:03 am, the Craig Executive Airport ASOS measured a wind gust of 58 mph. At 10:06 am, the NOS tide gauge at Mayport near the entrance of the St. Johns River basin recorded a peak storm surge inundation of 3.58 ft MHHW datum. Major flooding begins at 3.3 ft MHHW at this location. This was higher than the peak water level of 3.21 ft MHHW that occurred during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. At 10:16 am, the public reported major storm surge flooding of yards and docks in the Hammocks of Oak Landing along the ICWW. At 10:23 am, broadcast media reported 1-2 ft of storm surge flooding in the streets of San Marco and high tide was still about 1.5 hrs from peak inundation. Tide gauges between downtown Jacksonville and the Atlantic along the St. Johns river were all reporting major flooding levels. At 12:20 pm, the public reported significant storm surge flood inundation from the ICWW with water near homes and in lower portions of Marsh Hammock Drive East. The water depth was deeper than Ian (2022) but less than Irma (2017). High tide was imminent at this location. At 12:50 pm, broadcast media reported significant flooding in neighborhoods near the Trout River over the past few hours. Some locations reported 2.5 ft of storm surge inundation flooding. Around this time, an electrical fire destroyed an apartment building at Island Pointe Complex along the Trout River. At 12:59 pm, the public reported water was in yards and over the docks near the Isle of Palms along the ICWW between Beach Blvd and JTB Blvd and was much higher than Ian (2022). At 1:06 pm, the USGS tide gauge at the Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville recorded a peak storm surge inundation value of 3.26 ft MHHW. Major flooding for this location begins at 3 ft MHHW datum. At 1:55 pm, broadcast media reported that the Southampton neighborhood along the south bank of the St. Johns River experienced storm surge flooding inundation. Streets were flooded and water surrounded homes with some water intrusion possibly inside some structures. At 2 pm, broadcast media reported storm surge inundation was ongoing at Memorial Park in the Jacksonville Riverside area. Streets including Margaret Street and Riverside Avenue were flooded with high tide. Flood water inundated the ground floor of the adjacent building at Park Lane Condos. Storm surge inundation in Riverside reached Osceola and Oak streets. People were wading through the water and the water was approximately mid-thigh deep. River gauges in the area reported a major flood stage with inundation 3.25-3.35 ft MHHW. Street flooding occurred in Pirates Cove in the Ortega River from storm surge.
A large tree fell onto a home in the JAX Northside resulting in substantial damage. Other isolated to scattered tree damage occurred across the county. Minor damage was reported to beach walkovers. A boat broke loose from the marina in the Ortega River, caught fire and sank.
Recorded rainfall was generally 2-4 inches across the county.
Wider weather episode
Hurricane Nicole approached the SE FL Atlantic Coast and made landfall as a Category 1 near Vero Beach during the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, November 10th. Strong high pressure dominated NNE of the region ahead of Nicole on Wednesday, November 9th, which created strong onshore flow and gusty winds of 35-50 mph in a local 'nor'easter' type of event. This strong onshore flow combined with high astronomical tides 'charged' inland estuaries including the St. Johns River basin ahead of storm surge from Hurricane Nicole. Winds and ocean surge increased through Wednesday night with the peak of the storm surge along the local Atlantic Coast Thursday morning around high tide, then the surge peak down the St. Johns River through high tide Thursday afternoon. After landfall, Nicole weakened to a tropical storm as the center track WNW across central FL through the day Thursday then began a more northward turn across the central FL panhandle into Thursday night. The main local impacts from Nicole were storm surge inundation as well as tropical storm force wind damage.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1058692. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.