A prevailing SW flow combined with the river, lake and sea breezes converged east of Highway 301 in the late evening over a moist and unstable airmass. Numerous boundary mergers produced waterspouts over the St.
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 JAX wrote it up.
A prevailing SW flow combined with the river, lake and sea breezes converged east of Highway 301 in the late evening over a moist and unstable airmass. Numerous boundary mergers produced waterspouts over the St. Johns River west of Hastings, FL and over Lake George. The waterspout over Lake George shifted onto Drayton Island and became a landspout. No damages or injuries were reported. Other storms produced gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall especially across SE GA, including some localized flooding reports.
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 Jul 20, 5:45 AM EST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 645 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 ...New AVIATION... .NEAR TERM... (Today and Tonight) Issued at 322 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 For the latest NE FL and SE GA Daily Key Messages please visit: https://www.weather.gov/media/jax/briefings/nws-jax-briefing.pdf Southwest steering flow at the surface and in the mid levels combined with atmospheric PWATs around 2 inches will continue a near repeat of conditions from yesterday as late morning/early afternoon convection over inland areas that will track East to Northeast at 15-20 mph and reach the East Coast sea breeze that should reach into the US 17 and I-95 corridors in the mid/late afternoon hours and expect this convergence to trigger numerous to widespread showers and storms with strong/gusty winds to 50 mph along with heavy rainfall/localized flooding and frequent lightning, and similar to yesterday isolated severe storms with potential downburst winds to 60 mph are possible, mainly along the I-95 corridor of the Atlantic Coastal counties where storm mergers with the East Coast sea breeze are expected. This activity should then continue at strong to isolated severe levels as it pushes E-NE through the Atlantic Coastal Counties through the early evening hours and into the Atlantic Coastal waters around or just after sunset, with convection fading towards the late evening hours and ending by midnight. Timing of the onset of convection will determine eventual daytime Max temps, but overall expect widespread lower to middle 90s inland and around 90F at the Atlantic beaches and these combined with dewpoints into the middle 70s should push heat indices into the 104-108F range, likely just below or just briefly reaching Heat Advisory levels at this time. Overnight lows in the 70s over inland areas and near 80F at the Atlantic beaches. && .SHORT TERM... (Sunday through Monday night) Issued at 322 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 A shift in the high pressure to the north-northeast of the region on Sunday will see the overall flow shift to be primarily from the south. This will allow the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes to venture well inland. The daytime heating will see the development of showers and storms along the breezes, with activity picking up as the sea breezes merge during the afternoon between the I-75 and I-95 corridors. Most activity will dwindle during the overnight hours due to the loss of the daytime heating. By Monday, a southeasterly flow will become established as the high pressure shifts further north-northeast. This will setup the Atlantic sea breeze moving further inland towards the west. Near the I-75 corridor will be the likely area for the merger between the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes during the afternoon hours on Monday, setting up the development of the stronger showers and storms of the day. Early afternoon showers will keep temperatures in check in the lower to mid 90s. Heat index values currently expected to stay just below criteria for heat advisory at this time for the weekend, but higher values will be expected along the coast. && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday through Friday) Issued at 322 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 The high pressure to the northeast will continue the pattern of a far westward traveling Atlantic sea breeze. Showers and storms will develop along the Atlantic sea breeze as it moves to the west, but most convective activity likely to occur along the merger of the sea breezes over the western portion of the area. Activity will diminish each evening as the daytime heating is loss. Temperatures will trend near to above normal with highs in the low-mid 90s and lows in the 70s. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 645 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 With the flow continuing to be from the southwest, the gulf breeze will be dominant again. This will lead to showers and storms moving from west to east starting in the afternoon, with shower development along the breeze. With storms that do develop, gusts of to 30 knots will be possible with vsbys dropping during the periods of heavier rainfall. Activity will diminish during the early evening, with VFR conditions through most of the overnight hours. && .MARINE... Issued at 322 AM EDT Sat Jul 20 2024 No headlines expected over the next 5 days as high pressure ridge from the Western Atlantic will be across or just south of the local waters through early next week. This will continue a general south to southwest flow through the period at 10-15 knots with seas 2-4 ft, along with daily sea breeze along the local beaches from the Southeast. A few evening/nocturnal southerly wind surges could briefly reach into the 15-20 knot range, but not likely to last long enough to warrant any headlines. Main impacts will be offshore moving storms during the afternoon and evening hours with strong/gusty winds to 30-45 knots, heavy rainfall and dangerous lightning. Rip Currents: Marginal moderate risk of rip currents will continue through the weekend as mainly south to southwest flow becomes briefly onshore Southeasterly during the afternoon hours at the local beaches with surf/breakers of 2-3 ft. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMG 91 72 92 73 / 80 60 80 40 SSI 89 76 89 77 / 80 70 60 40 JAX 94 74 93 75 / 90 60 70 30 SGJ 92 75 93 76 / 80 70 60 20 GNV 94 73 93 73 / 70 50 80 20 OCF 94 73 94 75 / 60 40 80 20 && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GA...None. AM...None. &&
The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:58 UTC.
2 tornado, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
A COCORAHS station FL-CB-28 Fort White 4.4 NE reported a 24 hour total of 4.02 inches of rain.
Waterspout on Lake George went onto Drayton Island and became a land spout. No injuries or damage was reported. Photos from multiple viewpoints were relayed. Time was estimated by radar.
Waterspout was spotted by county deputy over the St. Johns River near SR 207 and Rector Road. No injuries or damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2024Warnings in Florida, July 2024
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: 1193487, 1195724, 1195725.