A squall line moved through south Florida around midnight. In the wake of the squall line, where only light rain was falling, strong southwest gradient winds gusting up to 73 mph spread from Collier County through Hendry and Glades counties and into western Palm Beach County.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MFL wrote it up.
A squall line moved through south Florida around midnight. In the wake of the squall line, where only light rain was falling, strong southwest gradient winds gusting up to 73 mph spread from Collier County through Hendry and Glades counties and into western Palm Beach County. The winds severely damaged several mobile homes along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee and blew out a store window in Belle Glade. Shingles were blown off some roofs, screened porches and awnings were damaged, and large trees were blown over. The strong winds caused a seiche effect on Lake Okeechobee which created a water-level difference up to 5.6 feet between the north and south shores that lasted for up to 12 hours. The strong winds were attributed to a rare weather phenomenon in south Florida, the wake low.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 13, 2:30 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
SOUTH FLORIDA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 330 AM EDT TUE APR 13 2004 .DISCUSSION...VERY BUSY MORNING FOR SOUTH FLORIDA AS LARGE CLUSTER OF CONVECTION MOVING ACROSS. MODELS SHOW THIS PERSISTING INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS. HAVE HAD SOME TORNADIC SIGNATURES AS WELL SO SPC HAS ISSUED WATCH UNTIL EARLY MORNING. VERY IMPRESSIVE CELL ALSO W OF DRY TORTUGA WITH BOO-GOO LIGHTNING. WHILE THIS CELL IS A RIGHT MOVER, BOUNDARY TO REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE REGION SO WILL GO 100 PERCENT FOR ALL ZONES BUT MAY LOWER A LITTLE FOR NORTHERN AREAS. WILL MAKE LAST MINUTE DECISION ON THAT. COLD FRONT WILL MAKE IT THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON NORTHWEST REGIONS AND EARLY EVENING SE COAST ENDING ALL OF THE ACTION. MUCH DRIER AIR MOVES IN BEHIND THE FRONT SO NEARLY CLOUD FREE SKIES EXPECTED END OF THE WEEK. && .MARINE...CURRENT WINDS ARE MUCH LOWER THAN MODELS INDICATE BUT WILL GO WITH THEY DEPICT AS WINDS AT DRY TORTUGA INCREASED DRAMATICALLY A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO AND IT DID NOT SEEM TO BE CONVECTIVE INDUCED. SO WILL GO ADVISORY FOR ATLANTIC AND GULF WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS DO NOT VEER TO THE NE AND SUBSIDE UNTIL LATER IN THE WEEK SO SEAS IN THE GULF STREAM WILL REMAIN HIGH. && .FIRE WEATHER...AGAIN...AS ON MONDAY...AMPLE MOISTURE IN THE GUISE OF WIDESPREAD RAIN OVER ALL ZONES TODAY WITH THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING OVER THE S AND E COAST ZONES...WITH EXPECTED WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALL AREAS THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE APPROACH OF THE COLD FRONT. TRANSPORT WINDS STILL HIGH AND DSI HIGH AGAIN TODAY. BUT WITH RH HIGH...NO HIGHLIGHTS TODAY. COOLER AND DRIER AIR OVER THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. ALL MODELS NOT HANDLING DEW POINTS WELL. USED WSETA FOR TODAY THEN USED BEST MODEL THAT COMPARED TO WSETA AT 24 HOURS. RH TO LOWER INTO THE UPPER 30S WEDNESDAY. COMBINED WITH SUSTAINED WIND NEARING 15 MPH...GETTING NEAR WATCH CRITERIA BUT DID NOT GET ANY 35% OR LESS VALUES IN GRIDS. WILL HOLD OFF ANY HIGHLIGHTS AT THIS TIME BUT SITUATION WILL BE MONITORED. THURSDAY...WINDS DECREASE BUT RH A BIT LOWER. AGAIN...SOMETHING TO MONITOR. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WEST PALM BEACH 83 58 75 54 / 99 20 00 MM FORT LAUDERDALE 83 60 77 56 / 99 40 00 MM MIAMI 82 60 75 56 / 99 40 00 MM NAPLES 76 57 72 55 / 99 20 00 MM && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SCA ATLANTIC WATERS AND GULF WATERS. && BRABANDER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 700 PM EDT MON APR 12 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA FLZ063-066>075-130400- BROWARD METROPOLITAN-DADE METROPOLITAN-EASTERN COLLIER-GLADES-HENDRY- MAINLAND MONROE-PALM BEACH EASTERN-PALM BEACH WESTERN- WESTERN BROWARD-WESTERN COLLIER-WESTERN DADE- 700 PM EDT MON APR 12 2004 .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING... A TAIL END OF A FRONTAL SYSTEM ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA ON TUESDAY. THE SYSTEM WILL BE SWEEPING ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST COAST DURING THE MORNING HOURS REACHING THE SOUTHEAST COAST DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT SOUTH FLORIDA AGAIN. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THIS ACTIVITY...MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA ON TUESDAY...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ALONG WITH THE FRONT. A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD ALSO BE STRONG. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 151 AM EDT TUE APR 13 2004 FLZ070-075-130615- EASTERN COLLIER-MAINLAND MONROE- 151 AM EDT TUE APR 13 2004 AT 148 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND EXTREMELY INTENSE CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHOKOLOSKEE AND WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM WILL PASS NEAR OR JUST TO THE SOUTH OF CHOKOLOSKEE. PEOPLE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. HANDEL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 358 AM EDT TUE APR 13 2004 FLZ071-072-130830- BROWARD METROPOLITAN-WESTERN BROWARD- 358 AM EDT TUE APR 13 2004 ...STRONG STORM APPROACHING METRO BROWARD COUNTY... AT 348 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER THE EVERGLADES OF SOUTHWESTERN BROWARD COUNTY...10 MILES WEST OF THE COMMUNITIES OF MIRAMAR...PEMBROKE PINES...AND WESTON. THIS STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. THIS STORM IS SHOWING SIGNS OF INTENSIFICATION...SO RESIDENTS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 AM EDT TUESDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHERN FLORIDA. BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING QUICKLY IF A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED. HANDEL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 2004
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: 5387818, 5387817, 5387816, 5387815.