Thunderstorm Wind, Escambia
- When
- January 28, 6:45 AM CST
- Where
- Escambia County, Ensley
- Measured
- 80 kt (92 mph)
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 30.520, -87.270
Damaging Wind in Florida, January 28, 1997
An intense microburst struck a hardware store in the Ensley area near the intersections of US Highway 90 and US Highway 29. Estimated wind speed of the microburst was 90 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MOB wrote it up.
An intense microburst struck a hardware store in the Ensley area near the intersections of US Highway 90 and US Highway 29. Estimated wind speed of the microburst was 90 mph. Most of the roof was peeled from the building. After the wind got inside the building through the roof it caused the inside of the building to bow out on three sides. One side of the concrete block building partially collapsed. Insulation and debris were blown in a fan-like pattern for about 200 yards south through west through northwest of the microburst. Several people reported seeing what looked like a funnel cloud moving along above the tree tops before the wind damaged the building. Nothing else in the area was damaged.
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:44 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Illinois, January 28, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 28, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, January 28, 1997
- Winter Storm in Maine, January 28, 1997
- Winter Storm in Montana, January 28, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, January 28, 1997
- High Wind in Massachusetts, January 28, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, January 28, 1997
- Hail in Mississippi, January 28, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, January 28, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, January 28, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, January 28, 1997
More
Every storm in Florida in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5587613.