Tropical Storm — St. Lucie, Florida

2016-10-06 to 2016-10-07 · St. Lucie, Florida

Event narrative

Major Hurricane Matthew passed nearly 40 miles offshore St. Lucie County during the early morning hours of October 7, producing several hours of sustained tropical storm winds and a 12-hour period of frequent wind gusts to tropical storm force, especially across the eastern half of the county. The highest sustained wind recorded at the Treasure Coast International Airport in Ft. Pierce was 45 mph from the west at 0315LST on October 7 and the peak gust was 63 mph from the west at 0254LST. Minor wind damage occurred to homes, mainly a result of trees falling onto roofs. Isolated damage to garage doors and overhangs also occurred. A mobile home was destroyed due to a falling tree. Property damage estimates were not released. A total of 1,930 residents evacuated to shelters within the county. There were four indirect deaths. During the early morning hours of Friday, October 7, fire officials suspended emergency services due to dangerous winds. During this period when fire officials were unable to respond to incoming emergency calls, a 58-year-old Indian River Estates woman died of a heart attack around 0030LST and an 82-year old Port St. Lucie man died around 0230LST after suffering breathing problems and symptoms of a stroke. A couple in their 90's was found unconscious in their Port St. Lucie home after officials discovered they were running a gas generator in their garage throughout the hurricane. They were transported to a local hospital where they later died due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Wider weather episode

Major Hurricane Matthew moved northwest from the eastern tip to Cuba, reaching the extreme western coast of Grand Bahama Island during the evening of October 6 at Category 4 strength. The hurricane continued northwest and was centered approximately 55 miles east of Stuart at 2300LST. Matthew then paralleled the Florida coast, remaining just offshore as a Category 3 hurricane. The eye reached its closest point of approach to land, only 25 miles east of Cape Canaveral near 0800LST on October 7, and was 35 miles east of Daytona Beach around 1100LST, as it continued moving northwest, just offshore the northeast Florida coast. Hurricane force winds (sustained or frequent gusts) affected coastal areas from Vero Beach northward, extending inland across the mainland portions of Brevard and Volusia Counties, with tropical storm force winds experienced across much of the remainder of east-central Florida. The strongest winds occurred along the coast from Cape Canaveral in Brevard County to north or Ormond-By-The-Sea in Volusia County, where Category 1-2 winds were likely experienced. Two direct hurricane-related fatalities and one direct injury occurred, in addition to nine indirect deaths. Preliminary damage estimates across east-central Florida exceeded $580 million, with $514 million reported in Volusia County alone.

A storm surge of 3-6 feet affected the beaches from near the Indian River/St. Lucie County line northward to the Volusia/Flagler County line, along with moderate to major beach erosion, with the highest surge (5-6 feet) and most significant erosion occurring north of Daytona Beach. Farther south, a surge of 2-3 feet occurred, along with minor to moderate beach erosion.

Rainfall totals reached 7-9 inches across parts of Seminole and Volusia Counties, where widespread flooding of streets and low-lying areas occurred. Elsewhere, rainfall totals were generally 2-6 inches, with isolated, minor flooding of poor drainage areas and standing water on roadways.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 661497. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.