A cold front moved through the region during the early part of the month. Steep mid-level lapse rates and moderate instability and deep layer shear combined to produce several instances of large hail and damaging winds across portions of the Florida panhandle and southwest and south-central Georgia.
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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 TAE wrote it up.
A cold front moved through the region during the early part of the month. Steep mid-level lapse rates and moderate instability and deep layer shear combined to produce several instances of large hail and damaging winds across portions of the Florida panhandle and southwest and south-central Georgia.
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 May 3, 2:56 PM EST, 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tallahassee FL 356 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016 .NEAR TERM [Through Tonight]... Thunderstorms were becoming more numerous in the early afternoon across the area, but storm intensity was only increasing very gradually. Individual cells were struggling to build much reflectivity above 20,000 feet, suggesting that perhaps the mid- level lapse rates are not as steep as what was sampled earlier by our 12Z Tallahassee sounding. A slight risk of severe weather continues for much of the northern half of the area from SPC, and the environment does support the potential for some isolated severe storms. Objective analysis and modifying the 12Z sounding for current temperature and dewpoint spreads yields around 2000 j/kg of SBCAPE, and effective deep layer shear is around 35-40 knots. Therefore, there is still a chance some of the stronger storms this afternoon could produce some large hail and damaging winds. Storm coverage and intensity should diminish quickly after 00Z. .SHORT TERM [Wednesday Through Thursday Night]... An elongated +PV anomaly is clearly visible on WV imagery this afternoon, stretching through the Ohio & Mississippi Valleys, and the Central & Southern Plains. Another large, but more consolidated anomaly can also be found on WV imagery entering the Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region from the north. At the surface, a cold front leads these features, draped down the Appalachians and through the Southeast. By Wednesday morning, the latter anomaly will force the former into the Southeast, also just clearing the front through the southeast Big Bend of Florida. Any rain still lingering tomorrow morning will likely be around Dixie county and should finish up by mid-morning. The latter anomaly will settle into the eastern CONUS through the remainder of the period, yielding a large area of low pressure centered over the Mid-Atlantic. Lower tropospheric heights and temperatures between 2-4 standard deviations below normal will result in a much cooler end to the week. Wednesday will be the transition day with highs ranging from the upper 70s north and west of the Flint and Apalachicola, to around 80 to the east. Thursday will be the coolest afternoon with highs ranging from the low 70s across Alabama and Georgia to the mid 70s elsewhere. Overnight lows will range from the upper 50s to low 60s on Wednesday night, down to the low 50s on Thursday night. .LONG TERM [Friday Through Tuesday]... Deep layer ridging will become entrenched through the extended range, resulting in above average temperatures and no rainfall. && .AVIATION [Through 18Z Wednesday]... Numerous thunderstorms will develop after 18Z with local MVFR/IFR cigs and vsbys in brief moderate to heavy rain as a cold front moves slowly southeast across the region. There is a threat of damaging hail with these thunderstorms as well as locally strong wind gusts. Showers and thunderstorms will gradually diminish by 06Z-09Z as the front moves southeast from the FL panhandle to north central FL. Expect clearing skies and dry conditions 12Z-18Z Wed. && .MARINE... Cautionary level winds are expected late Wednesday through Friday morning in the wake of a cold front. Otherwise, relatively light winds and low seas will prevail. && .FIRE WEATHER... Although much drier conditions are expected over the next several days, it should be cool enough in the afternoon to preclude critical relative humidity levels. Thus, Red Flag conditions are not expected. However, dispersion indices are expected to be rather high Wednesday and Thursday due to deep mixing heights and moderately strong transport winds. && .HYDROLOGY... Numerous showers and thunderstorms will result in 1 to 2 inches of rain with locally higher amounts possible. Rain will generally fall in the 12 hour period between 18Z today and 06Z Wednesday. Brief heavy rainfall in urban areas may create some minor street flooding but otherwise no hydrology related hazards are expected. Dry conditions return on Wednesday and will continue for the next several days. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Tallahassee 66 81 60 74 52 / 40 10 0 0 0 Panama City 67 77 64 74 58 / 20 10 0 0 0 Dothan 61 76 56 71 51 / 30 0 0 0 0 Albany 62 77 57 71 50 / 40 10 0 0 0 Valdosta 66 79 58 73 51 / 50 20 0 0 0 Cross City 70 80 63 76 52 / 60 40 10 0 0 Apalachicola 68 78 65 74 57 / 30 20 0 0 0 && .TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GA...None. AL...None. GM...None. && NEAR TERM...Lamers SHORT TERM...Harrigan LONG TERM...Harrigan AVIATION...Hollingsworth MARINE...Harrigan FIRE WEATHER...Harrigan HYDROLOGY...Hollingsworth
The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:01 UTC.
3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown over onto a car and truck along Webster Road. There were also power lines reported down. Damage was estimated.
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, May 2016
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: 624349, 624350, 624351, 624348.