The east coast sea breeze moved inland during the late afternoon and early evening hours, producing isolated thunderstorms from Orlando to the Treasure Coast. A storm that moved east of downtown Orlando produced penny to quarter sized hail.
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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 MLB wrote it up.
The east coast sea breeze moved inland during the late afternoon and early evening hours, producing isolated thunderstorms from Orlando to the Treasure Coast. A storm that moved east of downtown Orlando produced penny to quarter sized hail.
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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 11, 2:20 PM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 320 PM EDT WED MAY 11 2011 .DISCUSSION... ...LOCAL WEATHER PATTERN LOOKS MORE FAVORABLE FOR RAINFALL BEGINNING THIS WEEKEND... CURRENT...HOT AFTERNOON IN PROGRESS WITH 2PM TEMPS L90S AREAWIDE AND OCNLY GUSTY W-NW WINDS KEEPING THE LATE-FORMING ECSB PINNED OUT OVER THE BARRIER ISLANDS...IN SPOTS WHERE IT HAS ACTUALLY FORMED. DIURNAL CU FIELD LOOKS RATHER PALTRY ONCE AGAIN...NO SURPRISE GIVEN WHAT THE MORNING RAOBS LOOKED LIKE. PROSPECT FOR A LATE AFTERNOON SHRA/TS LOOK DIM AS THE TWO SHRA THAT POPPED NEAR JAX DISSIPATED VERY QUICKLY... AND AS SUCH PLAN TO REMOVE MENTION OF ANY EARLY EVENING PRECIP. WARM'AGAIN OVERNIGHT WITH MINS U60S-L70S. THU...MID/UPR RIDGE WL REMAIN DOMINANT ONCE AGAIN THU AFTN WHILE WEAK BUBBLE HIGH DVLPS OVER THE WRN ATLC. THIS WILL PLACE FL PENIN IN A WEAK SFC COL BTWN IT AND THE PERSISTENT GOMEX SFC HIGH. COASTAL SEA BREEZES SHOULD BE ABLE TO FORM/PUSH INLAND A LTL MORE READILY WITH JUST A SMALL CHC FOR A LATE DAY SHRA/TS...MAINLY INVOF SEA BRZ INTERACTION OVER THE INTR AROUND SUNSET. TEMPS A LTL COOLER NEAR THE COAST (U80S) OWING TO ECSB PASSAGE WITH L90S ONCE AGAIN @ THE INTR. THU NIGHT-FRI NIGHT...RIDGING ALOFT WEAKENS AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA AND OUT INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC BY LATE FRI AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE AR/MS/TN AREA. STILL NO SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE INCREASE AS THE MAIN FEED OF NORTHWARD MOVING MOISTURE ONLY REACHES THE FL PANHANDLE WHERE THE BEST VORTICITY IS FORECAST TO BE FOUND. SOME DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN ECMWF/GFS ABOUT ATLANTIC MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK BACKDOOR FRONT REACHING THE COAST SO FOR THIS REASONING LEAVING RAIN CHANCES AS THEY ARE... A 20 POP DAYTIME FRI AND A 30 POP OVER WATER AND ALONG THE COAST CAPE CANAVERAL NORTH AND 20 POP FOR THE REST OF THE COAST. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST FLOW AHEAD OF THE SURFACE TROUGH MEANS ANOTHER VERY WARM DAY FRI WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS OVER THE INTERIOR STILL ANYWHERE FROM 3 TO 5 DEGREES ABOVE THEIR CLIMO UPPER 80S. COASTAL AREAS STILL WARMER BUT NOT AS MUCH WITH AN AFTERNOON... ALBEIT LATE...SEA BREEZE TO SLOW DOWN DAYTIME HEATING A LITTLE SO COASTAL COUNTIES SHOULD EXPERIENCE UPPER 80/AROUND 90 FOR HIGHS. MOSTLY CLEAR TO CLEAR SKIES EACH NIGHT WILL ALLOW RADIATIONAL COOLING TO DROP LOWS INTO THE MID/UPPER 60S AWAY FROM THE BEACHES AND LOW 70S BEACHSIDE. PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION... SAT-TUE...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS TRYING TO KEEP THIS PERIOD UNSETTLED WITH TROUGHING ALOFT MOVING IN FROM THE WEST AND PERIODIC SHORTWAVES MOVING EASTWARD OVER THE AREA IN THE NEAR ZONAL FLOW ALOFT. THIS WOULD TEND TO INDICATE AN INCREASE IN OVERALL DEEP LAYER MOISTURE. AT THIS STAGE WILL GO WITH LOW CONFIDENCE WITH TIMING AND PLACEMENT ISSUES EXISTING OF UPPER FEATURES. AS SUCH WILL LEAVE PRECIPITATION CHANCES AT 20 TO 30 PERCENT EACH DAY. WILL LEAVE OPEN POSSIBILITY FOR FUTURE SHIFTS TO ELEVATE CURRENT POP NUMBERS IF MODELS REMAIN CONSISTENT. AFTERNOON HIGHS WITHIN RANGE OF CLIMO THIS WEEKEND AND POSSIBLE SLIGHTLY COOLER FOR THE START OF NEXT WEEK. OVERNIGHT LOWS ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND NEAR NORMAL EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...VFR. && .MARINE...SLOW INCREASE IN SWELL CONTINUES...MAINLY WELL OFFSHORE AS 41010 IS NOW UP TO 4-5FT. TREND SHOULD CONTINUE THRU TNGT/THU ...HOWEVER LCL WAVE GUIDANCE MAY BE JUST A BIT TOO QUICK BRINGING MDT SWELLS INTO THE 20-60NM LEGS. AS SUCH...HAVE UNDERCUT SEAS BY ABOUT 1 FT OR SO THRU THU. FRI-MON...LATEST WAVE WATCH MODEL RUN FORECASTING 5 TO 6 FOOT LONG PERIOD SWELLS FROM THE NE/ENE FRI AND SAT...SUBSIDING 4 TO 5 FEET OVERNIGHT SAT-SUN AND CONTINUING TO SUBSIDE MON. WIND NOT THAT STRONG AT LESS THAN 15 KNOTS SO THE SWELL COMPONENT WILL MAKE UP MOST OF THE COMBINED SEAS. SWELL COMPONENT ALONG WITH THE WARM TEMPERATURES EACH DAY OVER THE WEEKEND WILL INCREASE THE RIP CURRENT RISK. MARINERS WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE TO THE WEST SAT/SUN AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS STORM MOTION BECOMES OFFSHORE WITH WIDELY SCATTERED LIGHTNING STORMS FORECAST. && .FIRE WEATHER...MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 35-40 PERCENT IN THE INTERIOR MOST AFTERNOONS. NO WIND ISSUES ARE ANTICIPATED ATTM. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DAB 68 88 68 89 / 10 20 10 10 MCO 69 92 69 92 / 10 20 10 10 MLB 69 88 71 89 / 10 20 10 10 VRB 69 87 68 87 / 10 20 10 10 LEE 69 93 67 92 / 10 20 10 10 SFB 69 92 69 93 / 10 20 10 10 ORL 72 92 69 93 / 10 20 10 10 FPR 69 85 68 88 / 10 20 10 10 && .MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...CRISTALDI LONG TERM/IMPACT WX....WIMMER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 330 PM EDT WED MAY 11 2011 AMZ550-552-555-570-572-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141- 144-147-120015- COASTAL WATERS FROM FLAGLER BEACH TO VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER INLET OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM FLAGLER BEACH TO VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- WATERS FROM VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- WATERS FROM SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- INLAND VOLUSIA-NORTHERN LAKE-ORANGE-SEMINOLE-SOUTHERN BREVARD- OSCEOLA-INDIAN RIVER-OKEECHOBEE-ST. LUCIE-MARTIN-COASTAL VOLUSIA- SOUTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN BREVARD- 330 PM EDT WED MAY 11 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. LOW STORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH LATE WEEK THEN INCREASE SLIGHTLY THIS WEEKEND AS ADDITIONAL MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE AREA. BOATING CONDITIONS WILL DETERIORATE THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND AS SWELLS BUILD FROM THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. WIMMER
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:49 UTC.
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A weather spotter observed penny sized hail at the intersection of Highway 426 and Highway 417.
A report of quarter sized hail at the intersection of Aloma Avenue and North Dean Road was relayed from Orlando media and a storm chaser.
Penny to nickel sized hail was reported by Orlando media at the intersection of North Dean Road and University Boulevard just west of the University of Central Florida.
Orlando media relayed reports of up to quarter sized hail near the University of Central Florida campus and Highway 417.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 2011
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: 290712, 290714, 290717, 290721.