High Wind — Inland Collier, Florida

2004-04-13 · Inland Collier, Florida

Wider weather episode

A squall line moved through south Florida around midnight. In the wake of the squall line, where only light rain was falling, strong southwest gradient winds gusting up to 73 mph spread from Collier County through Hendry and Glades counties and into western Palm Beach County. The winds severely damaged several mobile homes along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee and blew out a store window in Belle Glade. Shingles were blown off some roofs, screened porches and awnings were damaged, and large trees were blown over. The strong winds caused a seiche effect on Lake Okeechobee which created a water-level difference up to 5.6 feet between the north and south shores that lasted for up to 12 hours. The strong winds were attributed to a rare weather phenomenon in south Florida, the wake low.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5387818. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.