High Wind — Eastern Alachua, Florida

2020-02-06 · Eastern Alachua, Florida

Event narrative

Strong gradient (non-thunderstorm) winds began during the late morning and continued through mid- afternoon across Alachua County. At 12:40 pm a mesonet sensor near the University of Florida measured a gust of 47 mph from the SSW. At 12:53 pm the Gainesville Airport ASOS measured a wind gust of 40 mph which broke the daily record wind gust for the date at this climate site (previous record was 39 mph set in 2008). At 1:28 pm, the ASOS at the airport measured a gust of 45 mph. By 1:30 pm, the Alachua County Emergency Management team reported multiple trees down as well as power lines across the county including in the Gainesville city limits. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated so this event could be included in Storm Data.

Wider weather episode

Very strong speed shear preceded a potent storm system on February 6th. By early afternoon, widespread wind gusts of 40-47 mph from the SSW were reported across NE Florida through about 5 pm which caused tree damage and power line damage.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 870686. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.