A strong pre-frontal line of showers with embedded thunderstorms impacted the area during the afternoon hours. A few strong storms produced strong wind gusts.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 JAX wrote it up.
A strong pre-frontal line of showers with embedded thunderstorms impacted the area during the afternoon hours. A few strong storms produced strong wind gusts.
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 Dec 17, 9:19 AM EST, 4 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 919 AM EST THU DEC 17 2015 .UPDATE... BAND OF PREFRONTAL SHOWERS TO MOVE ACROSS SE GA THIS MORNING...AND DISSIPATE SOMEWHAT AS IT HEADS EAST. A STRONGER LINE OF SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED STORMS WILL MOVE INTO SE GA LATE THIS AFTERNOON JUST AHEAD OF THE SURFACE FRONT...THEN MOVE INTO NE FL TONIGHT. && .AVIATION... PATCHY LOW STRATUS EXPECTED TO LIFT IN THE NEXT HOUR...GIVING WAY TO PREVAILING MVFR CONDITIONS INTO THE AFTERNOON. SHOWERS WILL ARRIVE FROM THE NORTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON...WITH A FEW STORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT. && .MARINE... BASED ON RECENT REPORTS HAVE CANCELED THE MARINE DENSE FOG ADVISORY. SHOWERS TO REACH NORTHERN WATERS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH A CHANCE FOR STORMS TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMG 79 55 61 33 / 70 70 30 0 SSI 77 60 65 39 / 40 70 50 0 JAX 84 60 66 37 / 40 70 60 0 SGJ 83 63 68 43 / 40 60 70 0 GNV 84 61 67 36 / 40 60 60 0 OCF 84 64 68 37 / 30 60 60 0 && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GA...NONE. AM...NONE. && STRUBLE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 920 AM EST THU DEC 17 2015 AMZ450-452-454-470-472-474-FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-124-125- GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-181100- COASTAL WATERS FROM ALTAMAHA SOUND TO FERNANDINA BEACH FL OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM FERNANDINA BEACH TO ST. AUGUSTINE FL OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM ST. AUGUSTINE TO FLAGLER BEACH FL OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM ALTAMAHA SOUND GA TO FERNANDINA BEACH FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM FERNANDINA BEACH TO ST. AUGUSTINE FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM ST. AUGUSTINE TO FLAGLER BEACH FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- HAMILTON-SUWANNEE-COLUMBIA-BAKER-INLAND NASSAU-INLAND DUVAL-UNION- BRADFORD-CLAY-ST. JOHNS-GILCHRIST-ALACHUA-PUTNAM-FLAGLER-MARION- COASTAL NASSAU-COASTAL DUVAL-COFFEE-JEFF DAVIS-BACON-APPLING- WAYNE-ATKINSON-WARE-PIERCE-BRANTLEY-INLAND GLYNN-COASTAL GLYNN- ECHOLS-CLINCH-CHARLTON-INLAND CAMDEN-COASTAL CAMDEN- 920 AM EST THU DEC 17 2015 ...FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN SUWANNEE VALLEY... ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES LIKELY FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST FLORIDA...SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH OUR REGION THIS AFTERNOON. AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...A BROKEN LINE OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO INLAND AREAS OF SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN SUWANNEE VALLEY BY EARLY AFTERNOON. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT WITHIN STRONGER ACTIVITY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS IN THESE AREAS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE FROM THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER COASTAL NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA DURING THE EARLY AND MID MORNING HOURS ON FRIDAY. AN ABRUPT INCREASE IN NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL OVERSPREAD THE COASTAL WATERS IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT ON FRIDAY MORNING. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THE NEAR SHORE AND OFFSHORE WATERS FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH AROUND SUNRISE ON SATURDAY. ELEVATED SEAS WILL KEEP SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES IN PLACE THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY EVENING OFFSHORE. A MUCH COLDER AIR MASS WILL FILTER INTO OUR REGION ON FRIDAY. WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES WILL FALL INTO THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON SATURDAY. PATCHY FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER INLAND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA...THE NORTHERN SUWANNEE VALLEY...AND PORTIONS OF INLAND NORTHEAST FLORIDA DURING THE PREDAWN AND EARLY MORNING HOURS ON SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/JAX. NELSON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1258 PM EST THU DEC 17 2015
FLZ020-021-GAZ162-171845-
HAMILTON FL-SUWANNEE FL-ECHOLS GA-
1258 PM EST THU DEC 17 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR HAMILTON...NORTHWESTERN SUWANNEE
AND SOUTHWESTERN ECHOLS COUNTIES UNTIL 145 PM EST...
AT 1257 PM EST...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM
NEAR BLUE SPRINGS...OR NEAR SUWANNEE RIVER STATE PARK...MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
GUSTY WINDS OF 45 TO 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG WITH POSSIBLE MINOR
WIND DAMAGE.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
JASPER...JENNINGS...SUWANNEE RIVER STATE PARK...SUWANNEE SPRINGS...
CROSSROADS...BELMONT AND BLUE SPRINGS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REPORT DAMAGE TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR YOUR COUNTY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.
&&
LAT...LON 3076 8281 3074 8280 3073 8275 3059 8270
3056 8273 3053 8271 3053 8273 3043 8265
3040 8265 3038 8266 3034 8321 3035 8319
3038 8319 3039 8317 3041 8318 3042 8322
3046 8322 3047 8324 3052 8324 3057 8326
TIME...MOT...LOC 1757Z 243DEG 29KT 3046 8318
HESSThe Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:23 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind damage occurred at the Hamilton County Elementary School. Multiple power lines were blown down and one was blown onto a roof. The roof was blown off of one of the school building. No injuries were reported. The school was evacuated. The cost of damage was unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, December 2015
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: 608052.