Tropical Storm Colin made landfall across the southeast big bend during the overnight hours of June 6-7. Damage was relatively minor across the region.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 TAE wrote it up.
Tropical Storm Colin made landfall across the southeast big bend during the overnight hours of June 6-7. Damage was relatively minor across the region.
In Leon county, seven roads were closed on Monday afternoon due to flooding. Three were main roads, including Weems Road, North Meridian, and near Lake Ella. Localized rainfall amounts around 10 inches occurred in eastern Leon county.
In Franklin county, a voluntary evacuation was in place along the coast. Coastal flooding affected areas from Apalachicola to Alligator Point. Homes had water in backyards on the Gulf side of US-98 from Carrabelle Beach to St Teresa Beach. The St Teresa Beach and boat ramp flooded. Alligator Point Road was flooded with debris washed inland. Gulfshore Drive was flooded and closed on the east end of Alligator Point.
In Wakulla county, coastal flooding was reported in Mashes Sands Beach, Panacea, and Saint Marks. Flooding was greatest in St Marks. Several roads in the area were closed around high tide with two businesses getting water inside. Riverside Cafe had 1 foot of water enter the structure, and Cooter Stew had 3 to 6 inches of water enter the structure.
In Taylor county, the beaches reported 1 to 2 feet of inundation with locally higher values on Monday afternoon. This included Dark Island, Cedar Island, Keaton Beach, Dekle Beach, and Ezell Beach. The town of Steinhatchee had numerous roads flooded due to storm surge that started at 1:30 pm and ended around 6 pm. Homes were surrounded by flood waters, but no water made it inside.
In Dixie county, 1.5 to 2 feet of inundation occurred in Horseshoe Beach and Suwannee, mainly right along the waterfront. Storm surge was observed moving up the Suwannee River as far north as the US-19 gauge at Wilcox, FL.
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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 6, 4:48 AM EST, 7 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
548 AM EDT MON JUN 6 2016
...Tropical Storm Colin to Bring Impacts to the Area Today and
This Evening...
.DISCUSSION...
[UPDATED ON 5 AM ADVISORY CYCLE] Tropical Storm Colin formed
yesterday over the southern Gulf of Mexico, and per NHC became
the earliest 3rd tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic
basin records. We have updated the discussion below based on the
latest information, and it will be focused on the main impacts and
key messages associated with Colin in our local area. For more
detailed information, please see the HLSTAE or TCVTAE products.
***** KEY MESSAGES *****
1. The primary impacts in our area are expected to be related
to flooding, both due to localized heavy rainfall and storm
surge along the Apalachee Bay coastline. Any tropical storm
force winds should be largely confined to the Gulf of Mexico
and immediate coastal land locations.
2. Isolated very high rainfall totals - over 6 inches in a
relatively short period of time - may lead to localized
flash flooding, particularly in urban areas. It is difficult
to pinpoint the exact areas this would occur, but the best
chances will be in our Florida and Georgia zones.
3. Several feet of storm surge inundation is expected along
parts of the Apalachee Bay coastline on Monday afternoon
during the high tide cycle. Interests along Apalachee Bay,
especially on Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, and Dixie County
coasts, should prepare for inundation on the higher end of
current forecasts (3-4 feet).
***** FORECAST ANALYSIS *****
Colin remains a sheared and highly asymmetric system, with the
vast majority of the wind and rainfall situated in the eastern
semicircle. These situations can lead to greater forecast track
uncertainty (even if the model guidance is tightly clustered), as
low-level centers can reform underneath larger convective bursts.
The 5 AM NHC discussion noted that two different low-level centers
had recently been sampled by Hurricane Hunters aircraft.
The main change with this advisory cycle was to expand the Flood
Watch to the north and west of the existing area. Latest radar
loops show a band of enhanced rainfall rates already developing
from Panama City, to Bainbridge, to Tifton. Some model guidance
shows a band of heavy rain in this same corridor today, and out of
deference to those solutions (and the current radar trends), the
Flood Watch was expanded. High resolution models continue to
depict hourly rainfall rates peaking at 2-4"/hr in areas of slow-
moving or training convection later today. Several observation
sites this morning have already picked up around 0.4" rain in only
10-15 minutes with some of the first rain bands. The 06Z
Tallahassee sounding had a PWAT of 2.25" and a very high freezing
level of 16kft, suggesting very efficient warm rain processes will
be common today (and have already been observed). Given all of
this, locally very heavy rainfall and flash flooding continues to
be our primary concern related to TS Colin.
The storm surge flooding and tornado threats could be augmented by
the eventual track of the center of Colin. A track further to the
north and west of the NHC official forecast could yield a greater
tornado threat over the Florida Big Bend, as well as storm surge
inundation closer to the higher end of forecasts (around 4 feet).
Given the uncertainty in just how the low-level wind fields will
evolve, interests along the Apalachee Bay coastline should
prepare for the possibility of 3-4 feet of inundation due to storm
surge around the afternoon high tide cycle.
&&
.MARINE...
[NO CHANGES] Hazardous marine conditions should quickly develop
within a few hours of sunrise, and gradually worsen until the
center of Colin approaches later in the afternoon. The strongest
sustained winds in our marine areas are in the 40-45 knot range
with higher gusts, and seas peak around 10-15 feet.
&&
.AVIATION [Through 06Z Tuesday]...
[NO CHANGES] Bands of scattered heavy showers will fill in
through the AM hours with more widespread heavy rain expected
through the day. In heavier showers, IFR to LIFR visibilities
should be expected under MVFR ceilings. Gusty winds associated
with TS Colin will be most likely over our southeastern most
terminals (TLH and VLD) and should be in the 20 to 25 knot range
later this afternoon. Rain will taper off gradually from west to
east starting late this afternoon, possibly clearing all of our
terminals to the east just before the end of the TAF.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Tallahassee 79 72 92 70 94 / 100 70 20 0 0
Panama City 84 75 87 75 85 / 80 40 10 0 0
Dothan 82 70 90 68 89 / 80 30 10 0 0
Albany 79 71 91 68 89 / 80 60 10 0 0
Valdosta 79 72 89 68 91 / 100 90 20 0 0
Cross City 80 74 89 72 92 / 100 90 30 10 10
Apalachicola 81 74 88 74 88 / 100 60 20 0 0
&&
.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...Flood Watch through late tonight for Calhoun-Central Walton-
Coastal Bay-Coastal Dixie-Coastal Franklin-Coastal Gulf-
Coastal Jefferson-Coastal Taylor-Coastal Wakulla-Gadsden-
Inland Bay-Inland Dixie-Inland Franklin-Inland Gulf-Inland
Jefferson-Inland Taylor-Inland Wakulla-Jackson-Lafayette-
Leon-Liberty-Madison-South Walton-Washington.
Tropical Storm Warning for Coastal Dixie-Coastal Franklin-
Coastal Jefferson-Coastal Taylor-Coastal Wakulla-Inland
Dixie-Inland Franklin-Inland Taylor-Inland Wakulla-
Lafayette.
High Rip Current Risk through Tuesday morning for Coastal Bay-
Coastal Gulf-South Walton.
High Surf Advisory until 8 AM EDT /7 AM CDT/ Tuesday for Coastal
Bay-South Walton.
GA...Flood Watch through late tonight for Baker-Ben Hill-Berrien-
Brooks-Colquitt-Cook-Decatur-Dougherty-Grady-Irwin-Lanier-
Lowndes-Miller-Mitchell-Seminole-Thomas-Tift-Turner-Worth.
AL...None.
GM...Tropical Storm Warning for All Zones.
&&
LAMERS/HARRIGANPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1231 PM EDT MON JUN 06 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1228 PM HEAVY RAIN 5 E TALLAHASSEE 30.44N 84.20W
06/06/2016 M0.00 INCH LEON FL PUBLIC
FORMER NWS EMPLOYEE MEASURED 6.35 INCHES STORM TOTAL AND
5.2 INCHES SINCE 7AM.
&&
CAMPThe Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 12 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:50 UTC.
5 flash flood, 4 storm surge/tide, 3 flood, 2 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Weems Road was closed due to flash flooding. A video posted on social media showed rapidly flowing water across the road.
Proctor Road at Grenville Road was flooded and closed. Approximately 10 inches of rain fell near this location during the day.
Tram Road near St Joe Road was impassible due to flooding.
The public reported a local creek overflowing in the area via mping.
Roads around Lake Ella were down to one lane due to flooding.
John Hancock road at North Meridian Road was flooded and closed.
Creek Road was flooded and closed.
A picture was posted on social media showing minor street flooding at Tom Brown Park.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Coastal Bay | 2016-06-07 | 52 | Female | In Water | Direct |
| Rip Current, South Walton | 2016-06-07 | 36 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Rip Current, South Walton | 2016-06-07 | 35 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, June 2016The 2016 hurricane season
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: 630636, 630637, 633479, 630638, 630639, 633480, 633481, 633482, 630640, 630641, 630642, 630643, 628352, 628353.