Scattered thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave over South Florida moved north into east-central Florida and organized into a tropical squall line, with severe winds along the leading edge.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave over South Florida moved north into east-central Florida and organized into a tropical squall line, with severe winds along the leading edge.
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 Jul 22, 9:24 AM EST, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1024 AM EDT SUN JUL 22 2012 .DISCUSSION... LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS CURRENTLY OFFSHORE THE TREASURE COAST WITH A FEW MIGRATING ONSHORE BEFORE DYING EAST OF INTERSTATE 95. ASSOCIATED STRATOCUMULUS AND DEEP LAYER MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE MOVING NORTHWEST FROM THE BAHAMAS...BRINGING AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER AND SUBSEQUENT SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. DEEP LAYER RIDGE AXIS WILL REMAIN NORTH OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA AS MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTHEAST. THIS WILL KEEP THE AREA IN SOUTHEAST FLOW AND PROMOTE A QUICKLY WESTWARD PROPAGATING EAST COAST SEA BREEZE. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL BE HIGHEST ALONG COASTAL AREAS EARLY BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO INTERIOR SECTIONS BY MID AFTERNOON. EXPECT HIGHEST COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM KISSIMMEE TO MELBOURNE...BUT BEST POTENTIAL FOR STRONGER STORMS WILL EXIST NORTH AND WEST OF THIS LINE...AND ESPECIALLY NEAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF THE INTERSTATE 4 CORRIDOR. THIS IS DUE TO AN EARLIER ONSET OF SHOWERS NEAR THE COAST WHICH WILL LIMIT AFTERNOON DIURNAL HEATING AND INSTABILITY TO PROMOTE STRONGER STORMS...WHILE INTERIOR AREAS WILL SEE WARMER TEMPERATURES AT THE SURFACE TO ENHANCE LOW-LEVEL INSTABILITY. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL TOP OUT NEAR 90 ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE LOW-MID 90S INLAND. A POTENT MID-LEVEL SUBSIDENCE INVERSION...IN PLACE AS RESULT OF THE PROXIMITY OF THE DEEP LAYER RIDGE...WILL BE THE LIMITING FACTOR FOR ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP. HOWEVER...COMBINATION OF LARGE-SCALE LIFT FROM APPROACHING SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND MESOSCALE LIFT FROM EAST COAST SEA BREEZE IN COMBINATION WITH FAIRLY STEEP LAPSE RATES ABOVE THE INVERSION WILL LIKELY BE ENOUGH TO DEVELOP STORMS INLAND...WITH PERHAPS A FEW BECOMING STRONG. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES...LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 40 MPH. && .AVIATION... HAVE MAINTAINED PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS WITH VCSH FROM KMLB SOUTH ALONG THE COAST AND VCTS THIS AFTERNOON EVERYWHERE FOR NOW...BUT WILL LIKELY ADD TEMPO MVFR FOR TSRA DEVELOPING BY MID AFTERNOON IN 18Z ISSUANCE. && .MARINE... SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 10-15 KNOTS WILL PREVAIL ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DEEP LAYER RIDGE WITH SEAS OF LESS THAN 5 FEET FOR ALL LEGS. ANY SHOWERS OR STORMS THAT DEVELOP NEAR THE COAST WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS UP TO 30 KNOTS TODAY. && .MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. && GUSEMAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1215 PM EDT SUN JUL 22 2012 AMZ550-552-555-570-572-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141- 144-147-230415- 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- 1215 PM EDT SUN JUL 22 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... A DEEP EASTERLY FLOW ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA WILL FOCUS DAILY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE WEST PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF GENERATING WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH...MAINLY WEST OF A LINE FROM LAKE GEORGE TO LAKE KISSIMMEE. EVEN SO...THE PRIMARY WEATHER HAZARDS WILL BE FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES. REMEMBER...EVEN IF THERE IS NO RAIN...LIGHTNING CAN BE A THREAT. CEASE OUTDOOR ACTIVITY AND MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY IF THUNDER IS HEARD. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL WAVE WILL IMPACT AN AREA FROM ORLANDO AND MELBOURNE TO LAKE OKEECHOBEE AND HOBE SOUND TONIGHT WITH LOCAL HEAVY RAIN...WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH AND OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES. .RIP CURRENT IMPACT... THERE WILL BE A LOW TO MODERATE RIP CURRENT RISK AT AREA BEACHES TODAY. THE THREAT WILL BE HIGHEST THROUGH SUNSET DUE TO TIDAL EFFECTS. CHECK WITH LIFEGUARDS ABOUT OCEAN HAZARDS BEFORE ENTERING THE SURF. .MARINE THUNDERSTORM GUST IMPACT... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE WIND GUSTS OVER 35 MPH ON INLAND LAKES AND WATERWAYS WEST I-95 THROUGH THIS EVENING. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL WAVE WILL IMPACT THE COASTAL WATER TONIGHT WITH CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING STRIKES AND WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY AS THE TROPICAL WAVE MOVES ACROSS THE PENINSULA. A MORE TYPICAL SUMMERTIME PATTERN OF SCATTERED AFTERNOON LIGHTNING STORMS RETURNS DAILY FROM TUESDAY THROUGH THE LATE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. BRAGAW
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:11 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
South Florida Water Management District site S65CW measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph along the Kissimmee River.
A spotter's Davis Pro weather station measured a 68 mph wind gust.
Mesonet station NLWF1 measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 59 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, July 2012
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: 384703, 384706, 384708.