A stalled frontal boundary across the region allowed for showers and thunderstorms across the region. There was plenty of deep moisture on the southern side of the stalled boundary where most storms developed in the afternoon with daily heating.
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 MFL wrote it up.
A stalled frontal boundary across the region allowed for showers and thunderstorms across the region. There was plenty of deep moisture on the southern side of the stalled boundary where most storms developed in the afternoon with daily heating. Light wind flow allowed storm motion to be slow and storms to produce heavy rainfall. Storms produced hail in Collier and Flooding in Miami Dade counties.
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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 16, 8:59 AM EST, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Miami FL 959 AM EDT Thu May 16 2019 ...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS BEACHES OF PALM BEACH COUNTY... ...A FEW STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE SOUTH OF ALLIGATOR ALLEY TODAY... .UPDATE... A weak frontal boundary will remain nearly stationary today over the extreme southern portion of South Florida. This will allow for more of an northeast/east steering flow over the area pushing the east coast sea breeze inland. Therefore, the shower and thunderstorms will shift from the southeast metro areas to the southwest metro areas this afternoon. Areas north of I-75 should be mostly dry today, except for the western interior areas where there could be a few showers or thunderstorms this afternoon especially over Collier County. A few of the storms could become strong south of Alligator Alley. The best timing of the strong storms will be over the southeastern areas this morning before shifting to the southwestern areas this afternoon, as the east coast sea breeze develops and pushes westward through the day. The primary impacts from the strong storms should be gusty winds up to 50 mph, small hail, and frequent lightning strikes. There is also a small northeast swell working into the Palm Beach waters today. This swell along with moderate east northeast winds will allow for a High Risk of Rip currents along the beaches of Palm Beach County today. Rest of the east coast beaches will see a Moderate Risk of Rip Currents today due to the moderate east northeast winds. Rest of the forecast looks good at this time and no other changes are planned. && .UPDATE...54/BNB .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 726 AM EDT Thu May 16 2019/ AVIATION... Isolated to scattered showers will continue to affect most of the east coast taf sites this morning before going mostly dry this afternoon, as the frontal boundary continues to shift southward into the northern Florida Keys. The only exception to this is at KTMB where VCSH will continue through the afternoon hours due to the closeness of the frontal boundary. The winds should be easterly at 10 to 15 knots today over the taf sites along the VFR conditions in the ceiling and vis, but could fall down into MVFR or even IFR conditions with any showers. && AVIATION...54/BNB PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 421 AM EDT Thu May 16 2019/ DISCUSSION... Key points: *Daily chances for shower and thunderstorm activity will exist each day into the middle of next week for much of the area, with the possibility for some drying for the middle of next week. *A few of the storms may produce localized gusty winds and heavy rains, with the greatest potential for strong wind gusts occurring this afternoon. Otherwise, thunderstorms should generally lack any substantial organization. *A strengthening east to east-southeast wind component will support increasing rip-current potential starting today for the Atlantic beaches -- especially for Coastal Palm Beach County where a High Rip Current Risk is in effect. A surface anticyclone continues building off the coast of the Carolinas -- in response to strengthening differential anticyclonic vorticity advection upstream of an amplifying midlevel trough over the western Atlantic waters. The center of the anticyclone will only slowly build east-northeastward through the remainder of this week into this weekend and early next week, while an attendant zonally- oriented surface ridge elongates. The core of this anticyclone represents the center of a relatively drier air mass. The NWS Miami CWA will be along the southwestern periphery of the broader anticyclonic flow, displaced away from the core of the driest air. As a result, adequate sub-tropical moisture will be cycling through persistent east to east-southeast flow to support daily chances of showers and thunderstorms into early next week. For today, the primary storm chances will be relegated to extreme southern parts of the NWS Miami CWA where the greatest boundary- layer moisture is expected to exist. Present indications are that midlevel winds will be decreasing through the day today, as a lower-latitude midlevel speed maximum continues to advance eastward. The entrance region of this feature will still overlie the forecast area today to offer marginally sufficient deep shear for modest convective organization. However, weak midlevel lapse rates will limit parcel accelerations, and the main hazards with any activity today should be locally heavy rain and gusty winds. After today, even less convective organization is expected each day into early next week, as midlevel winds further weaken while deep-layer baroclinicity focuses well northwest and north of the forecast area. Regardless, precipitation loading could support a few strong downdrafts -- especially as convective interactions become increasingly numerous this weekend with the passage of a diffuse upper trough. The latest medium-range model guidance suggests that this diffuse trough may amplify and/or close off near/east of the Bahamas by the middle of next week. This could yield strengthening northerly midlevel winds supporting deep-layer subsidence over the vicinity of FL. This may correspond to a drying trend across the area by the middle of next week. However, notable dispersion among model solutions regarding the evolution of the large-scale pattern limits the overall predictability of precipitation trends by the middle of next week. MARINE... Chances for showers and thunderstorms will exist each day through next week. Locally gusty winds and heavy rains could accompany this activity. Occasionally breezy east to east-southeast winds are expected today into this weekend, resulting in seas building upwards of 3-4 ft over the local Atlantic waters. BEACH FORECAST... For the Atlantic beaches, increasing onshore flow late this week into this weekend and early next week is expected to elevate the risk for rip currents. A High Rip Current Risk is in effect today into tonight for Coastal Palm Beach County, and this headline may need to be extended later in time in subsequent forecasts. AVIATION... Primarily VFR conditions are expected through the taf period. Some showers and thunderstorms will be possible today, primarily south of KOPF and west towards KAPF. Some MVFR conditions will be possible in and near any shra/tsra development. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... West Palm Beach 83 72 81 73 / 20 10 20 50 Fort Lauderdale 83 75 82 75 / 40 20 30 50 Miami 84 74 82 74 / 50 20 30 40 Naples 86 69 88 71 / 40 20 30 20 && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...High Rip Current Risk through Friday morning for FLZ168. AM...None. GM...None. && UPDATE...54/BNB DISCUSSION...34/SPM MARINE...34/SPM AVIATION...54/BNB BEACH FORECAST...34/SPM
Hazardous Weather Outlook for South Florida...UPDATED National Weather Service Miami FL 1047 AM EDT Thu May 16 2019 AMZ610-630-650-651-670-671-FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-GMZ656-657-676- 170115- Lake Okeechobee-Biscayne Bay- Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM- Coastal waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL out 20 NM- Waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL from 20 to 60 NM- Waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL from 20 to 60 NM excluding the territorial waters of Bahamas-Glades-Hendry- Inland Palm Beach-Metro Palm Beach-Coastal Collier-Inland Collier- Inland Broward-Metro Broward-Inland Miami-Dade-Metro Miami-Dade- Mainland Monroe-Coastal Palm Beach-Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami- Dade-Far South Miami-Dade- Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM- Coastal waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee FL out 20 NM- Waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL from 20 to 60 NM- 1047 AM EDT Thu May 16 2019 ...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS BEACHES OF PALM BEACH COUNTY... ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS REST OF ATLANTIC BEACHES... ...A FEW STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE SOUTH OF ALLIGATOR ALLEY TODAY... This hazardous weather outlook is for South Florida. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT Rip currents: There is a high risk of rip currents for the Palm Beaches and a moderate risk for Miami-Dade and Broward beaches today. Thunderstorms: Thunderstorms will be possible again today, primarily along the southern and western portions of South Florida. The southeastern areas will see thunderstorms in the morning hours with the southwestern areas seeing the thunderstorms in the afternoon hours. A few of the storms could become strong with gusty winds, hail, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rainfall. Hail: The strongest storms will be capable of producing hail up to nickel size. Winds: The strongest storms will be capable of producing wind gusts up to 50 mph. Waterspouts: there could be a few waterspouts over the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay waters this morning and over the Gulf waters this afternoon with any showers or thunderstorms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY Thunderstorms will continue to be possible each day mainly over the eastern areas in the late night and morning hours shifting to the interior and west coast metro areas in the afternoon and evening hours. There will also be an elevated rip current risk along the east coast beaches this weekend. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation Widespread spotter activation is not anticipated, however individual spotters are encouraged to report high wind, hail and flooding to the National Weather Service forecast office in Miami. For more information...visit the National Weather Service in Miami website at www.weather.gov/miami. Baxter
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
828 AM EDT THU MAY 16 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0745 AM WATER SPOUT 2 E BOCA RATON 26.36N 80.07W
05/16/2019 AMZ650 FL PUBLIC
MULTIPLE REPORTS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA OF A WATERSPOUT JUST
OFF SHORE FROM BOCA RATON AROUND 745 AM THIS MORNING.
&&
EVENT NUMBER MFL1900082
FISHERThe Miami radar (KAMX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:31 UTC.
1 flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rainfall on Miami Beach lead to flooding of roadways. The Macarthur Causeway was closed and cars were stuck in flood waters.
Video on social media showed a driver driving along I-75 in Collier County reporting large quarter size hail associated with a severe thunderstorm. Hail fell in enough amounts to cover the roadway for a short time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 2019
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: 827646, 827645.