Hurricane (Typhoon) — Inland Walton, Florida

2005-07-09 to 2005-07-11 · Inland Walton, Florida

Wider weather episode

Dennis, a Category 3 hurricane, moved inland just east of Gulf Breeze, FL, early Sunday afternoon, July 10. The peak wind gust and lowest sea-level pressure recorded were 67 knots and 979 mb, respectively, at Buoy 42039 located 80 miles south of Panama City, FL. Rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 4 inches in the eastern Florida Panhandle to 6 to 10 inches in the Florida Big Bend. Flooding was reported in southern Leon County where several areas were under 3 to 4 feet of water. Maximum coastal storm surge heights ranged from 4 to 8 feet in Walton, Bay, Gulf, Taylor and Dixie counties to 8 to 12 feet in Franklin, Wakulla and Jefferson counties. Moderate to severe beach erosion was observed along the beaches of Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla counties. Across coastal Walton County, all public dunes and walkovers were damaged. At St George Island, five miles of road and numerous structures were damaged or destroyed by Dennis' storm surge. Dennis' deluge caused several rivers and creeks in the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend to exceed their flood stages, including the Ocklockonee, Aucilla, St Marks rivers, and Spring Creek. An interesting aspect to the flooding is the remarkable surge up to 8 feet that propagated up the rivers. This surge was evident from the mouth of the Suwannee River to as far west as the Choctawhatchee River. The worst property damage occurred along the coast from Walton to Wakulla County, where more than a 1,000 homes and businesses were affected. Also, there were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, leaving about 75,000 customers without power. Bay, Dixie, Franklin, Gulf, Taylor, Wakulla and Walton counties were declared federal disaster areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5463438. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.