Tropical Storm and Coastal Flood in Florida, October 26 to 28, 2012

Name: Tropical Storm and Coastal Flood in Florida, October 26 to 28, 2012
Start: 2012-10-26T08:10
End: 2012-10-28T14:00
Location: Florida

October 26 to 28, 2012 · NWS JAX · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

S. S.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 JAX wrote it up.

The combination of T.S. Sandy and strong high pressure over the central U.S. combined to create a very strong, northeast flow over NE Florida and the adjacent coastal waters from Friday Nov. 26th through late on the 27th. Tropical storm force winds were measured over the adjacent coastal waters which were under a Tropical Storm Warning. Tropical storm force winds were measured along the Flagler County coast on Friday evening, where a tropical storm warning extended up to St. Augustine. A tropical storm watch was in effect from St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach. Elevated surf and dangerous rip currents impact the northeast Florida coast. Extra safety precautions were taken by emergency response officials due to a larger population in Jacksonville for the annual Fl-Ga College Football Game.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 25, 6:36 PM EST, 13 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 6:36 PM EST, 13 hours 34 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 25, 4:55 PM EST, 15 hours 15 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tropical storm, 2 coastal flood, 1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Duval

When: October 26, 8:10 AM EST
Where: Duval forecast zone
Reported by: Public

Breaker heights of 6 to 8 feet with a few larger sets were observed at the Jacksonville Beach Pier.

Tropical Storm, Flagler

When: October 26, 3:10 PM EST to October 27, 11:05 AM EST
Where: Flagler forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 29.471, -81.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tropical storm force wind gusts started to impact Flagler County around 4 pm on Friday Nov. 26th. At 4:10 pm, a wind gust to 43 mph was measured in East Palm Coast. Friday evening, a measured gust of 48 mph was measured near Flagler Beach. At 12:05 pm on the 27th, spotters in Flagler Beach reported surf heights of 6 feet. There were no reports of any major erosion. The Flagler Beach Pier was closed on the 26th and the 27th. High astronomical tides combined with onshore flow did create flooding problems on the afternoon of Sunday the 28th, when, at 3 pm, very minor tidal flooding was reported on the Intracoastal Waterway south of Flagler Beach at South 26th Street and South Daytona Avenue. This area is normally flood prone during higher than normal tides, and there was no water threat to structures or roads.

Tropical Storm, St. Johns

When: October 26, 6:05 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: St. Johns forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

St. Johns County Emergency Management reported coastal flooding around 7:05 pm on the evening of the 26th in St. Augustine. Water was going over the seawall south of the Bridge of Lions. Protective actions were taken. At 7:28 pm that evening, the St. Augustine AWOS station at the airport reported a gust of 49 mph. At 10 pm that evening, the St. Augustine C-Man station reported winds sustained at 36 mph with gusts to 48 mph. At 11 pm that evening, the St. Augustine C-Man reported measured sustained winds of 34 kts (39 mph) with a gust to 44 kts (51 mph).

Coastal Flood, Duval

When: October 28, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Duval forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

A maximum tide level of 6.59 feet was observed at the Mayport Tide Gage. Shallow coastal flooding typically begins along the northeast Florida coast near Mayport when the tidal departure is near 6.4 ft MLLW.

Coastal Flood, Flagler

When: October 28, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Flagler forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 29.471, -81.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Very minor tidal flooding was reported from the Intracoastal Waterway south of Flagler Beach. Water covered the road at South 26th Street and South Daytona Avenue. This area is normally flood prone during higher than normal tides. There was no threat to structures and the roads were not closed.

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph).
Coastal Flood: Flooding of coastal land by the sea, from storm surge, onshore wind or high tides.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, October 2012 The 2012 hurricane season

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 411659, 411660, 411661, 411662, 411663.