Long term rainfall deficits combined with above normal warmth and an early spring bloom contributed to dry fuels and favorable conditions for wildfires.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 JAX wrote it up.
Long term rainfall deficits combined with above normal warmth and an early spring bloom contributed to dry fuels and favorable conditions for wildfires.
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 Mar 31, 1:13 PM EST, 3 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 213 PM EDT Fri Mar 31 2017 .NEAR TERM/.../THROUGH SATURDAY/... A cold front will slide Southeast of the region Tonight, with high pressure building from the West on Saturday. A few spotty showers will be possible ahead of the frontal boundary this afternoon. Otherwise, skies will clear this evening into Tonight, with sunshine for Saturday. Temperatures will remain above normal this period. .SHORT TERM /Saturday Night Through Sunday Night/... An upper level ridge will remain over the region through the period ahead of an upper low/trough. The upper low/trough will slide slowly east from the desert southwest Saturday evening to eastern Texas by Monday morning. At the surface, high pressure over the Ohio Valley will slide east to the coast of North Carolina through the Sunday night. An area of low pressure will develop across Texas Sunday and Sunday night. Light winds Sunday night will become easterly on Sunday and then southeasterly Sunday night. Temperatures will continue to be hot with near record high temperatures, with highs in the mid 80s to low 90s inland, and near 80 to the lower 80s along the coast. .LONG TERM /Monday Through Thursday/... Models are trending further north and slower with the upper trough and surface low. The GFS has a broad surface low from the stretching from the southeast to the Ohio Valley by evening, with prefrontal trough moving across the panhandle of Florida and across southwest and central Georgia. Isolated to scattered showers and storms could develop Monday afternoon along the east coast sea breeze. Otherwise, the main convection is forecast to push into the the west and northwest portions of the region before midnight, and the rest of the region by Tuesday morning. With the upper dynamics trending further away, the convection may weaken as it moves through the region overnight. Any convection leftover may linger across the southern portion of the region through the day on Tuesday. The cold front is not forecast to make it through the region. Low and mid level moisture is forecast to lift back northward into the area on Wednesday ahead of the next upper trough moving through the central and southern Plains, bringing a chance for showers and storms to portions of northeast Florida. A deep upper trough is then forecast to stretch from the Great Lakes to the northern Gulf coast Thursday, with a strong cold front pushing into the region, bringing another good chance for showers and thunderstorms to the region. Cooler weather is then forecast for the end of the week. && .AVIATION... A few showers will be possible this afternoon, otherwise prevailing VFR conditions are expected this 18z TAF period. && .MARINE... A cold front will cross area waters Tonight, followed by building high pressure through the weekend. The high will move to the East on Monday as a cold front approaches. This front will cross area waters Monday night into Tuesday. After a period of high pressure on Wednesday, another frontal system will affect the region later in the week. RIP CURRENTS: Low risk through Saturday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMG 53 82 54 86 / 0 0 0 0 SSI 60 78 61 77 / 10 0 0 0 JAX 57 85 57 84 / 0 0 0 0 SGJ 61 81 60 81 / 0 0 0 0 GNV 55 86 55 89 / 0 0 0 0 OCF 57 87 56 89 / 10 0 0 0 && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GA...None. AM...None. && Kennedy/Struble/McGinnis
Hazardous Weather Outlook...Updated National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 509 PM EDT Fri Mar 31 2017 AMZ450-452-454-470-472-474-FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-124-125- GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-011000- 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- 509 PM EDT Fri Mar 31 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia and the Adjacent Coastal Waters. .DAY ONE...Rest of Today and Tonight... Westerly winds gusting to 20 to 35 mph will subside early this evening. Otherwise, no hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday... Thunderstorms are expected on Monday...and again on Thursday. Strong to severe storms are possible. Small craft advisory conditions are possible over the coastal waters Monday through Tuesday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. For additional information, visit the National Weather Service in Jacksonville website on the internet at weather.gov/jax.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire was near 37 acres in size about 5 miles WSW of Fernandina Beach. Volunteer evacuations of 12 homes were ongoing. The fire was about 75% contained.
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, March 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: 680219.