Storm Surge/Tide — Coastal Santa Rosa, Florida

2017-06-21 · Coastal Santa Rosa, Florida

Event narrative

The National Park Service at Gulf Islands National Seashore closed Highway 399 between Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach due to flooding.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Cindy first developed in the central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 20th and made landfall between Cameron, LA and Port Arthur, TX during the early morning hours of Thursday, June 22nd. Despite the center of the storm being far removed from the north central Gulf Coast, the effects of Cindy extended several hundred miles to the east of the center and impacted the local area starting late Tuesday and persisting through the end of the week.

The primary impact across the western Florida Panhandle was from heavy rain and flooding. Storm total rainfall ranged from 5 to 10 inches across much of the western Florida Panhandle. The top rainfall report was from NAS Whiting Field which measured 9.46 inches. Based on radar estimates, up to a foot of rain likely fell in parts of eastern Santa Rosa County, but there were no gauge reports available from that area. The heavy rain resulted in periods of flash flooding.

Minor coastal flooding was observed, particularly on Highway 399 in Santa Rosa County. Maximum inundation was just above 2 feet MHHW based on the Pensacola Bay tidal gauge.

One EF-0 tornado occurred in southern Okaloosa County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 709918. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.