A long term drought and above normal warm temperatures fueled wildfire growth.
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 long term drought and above normal warm temperatures fueled wildfire growth.
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 Apr 8, 1:50 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 250 PM EDT Sat Apr 8 2017 .NEAR TERM.../REST OF TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Sunny skies across the area with some cirrus skirting the northern zones as a shortwave passes through. Otherwise very pleasant conditions with temps in the 70-75 deg range attm. Tonight...as mid and upper level trough shifts well offshore locally...ridging will build eastward to the east coast with sfc high shifting over the area and just north of the region Sunday morning. Clear skies tonight and light winds will allow for good radiational cooling with mins again well below normal in the 40s...with lower to mid 50s near the coast. No fog but some shallow brief fog possible in normally fog-prone locations. Sunday...another stellar day with the airmass transitioning to onshore flow. Breezy easterly winds expected in the aftn over coastal NE FL...as synoptic flow becomes easterly and the east coast sea breeze develops. Few-sct cumulus clouds are expected over the southeast zones as low level moisture increases. Still looks like a few sprinkles are possible around Flagler County Sunday. Highs near 80 inland and mid 70s at the coast. .SHORT TERM.../SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... High pressure will be Northeast of the region this period. This pattern will continue the onshore flow. While a brief coastal shower will be possible in this flow, mainly for NE FL, the chance is too low to mention at this time. Temperatures will slowly moderate this period with readings near seasonal averages. && .LONG TERM.../TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... Little change in the overall pattern through Friday, with high pressure ridge remaining to the Northeast. A weakening front is forecast to slide South across the region Friday night into Saturday, but little if any precipitation is forecast, with high pressure ridge building to the Northeast again following its passage. Continued onshore flow this period, will yield potential for coastal showers, but chances too low for mention at this time, with the exception of Saturday. Temperatures will be fairly consistent this week with readings near seasonal averages. && .AVIATION...VFR. Light winds will come around to northeast this aftn. East to northeast winds on Sunday aftn up to 10-15 kt. && .MARINE...High pressure will build over the region tonight with lighter winds. High pressure will build east of North Carolina on Sunday through the middle of the week, with east to northeast winds of 10-15 knots prevailing. Seas will build to 2-4 feet through Tuesday morning and then 3-5 feet through Thursday. && .FIRE WEATHER... The airmass will continue to be dry into Sunday, however the flow will become more onshore Sunday afternoon. So the lowest RH values on Sunday are expected inland, where winds will also be fairly light. Continued onshore flow through the upcoming week should keep RH values above critical levels. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMG 44 78 51 80 / 0 0 0 0 SSI 54 71 61 73 / 0 0 0 0 JAX 46 75 57 77 / 0 0 0 10 SGJ 52 74 61 76 / 0 10 0 10 GNV 42 79 53 81 / 0 0 0 0 OCF 43 79 54 81 / 0 0 0 0 && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GA...None. AM...None. && Shashy/Struble/Corless
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 245 AM EDT Sat Apr 8 2017 AMZ450-452-454-470-472-474-FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-124-125- GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-090645- 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- 245 AM EDT Sat Apr 8 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia and the Adjacent Coastal Waters. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
341 PM EDT SAT APR 08 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0306 PM WILDFIRE 5 WSW PICOLATA 29.89N 81.68W
04/08/2017 CLAY FL EMERGENCY MNGR
FLORIDA STATE WARNING POINT ISSUED UPDATE ON LENO ROAD
WILDFIRE. IT IS NOW 75 ACRES. US HIGHWAY 17 IS CLOSED DUE
TO PROXIMITY TO THE WILDFIRE.
&&
JHESS1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire started near Leno Road and Highway 17 on April 8th. The fire grew to 75 acres. Highway 17 was closed in the area at one point and one structure was damage. Fire crews were able to have the fire 100% contained by that evening.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 2017
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: 692366.