The Easterly Wind Flow Across Florida Is Strong for May...

[gatorcane]

It really reminds me of May 2004 where the easterlies were about this strong. A monster ridge brought in Frances and Jeanne from the east that year with deep easterlies for most of the summer across peninsula Florida (especially South Florida).

Of course I am not saying this year will feature a monster ridge like 2004, but we certainly see some similarities.....

Any other similarities to 2004 that you notice?

Take a look at the observations along the SE Florida coast. We have seen these winds like this all week.....

W PALM BEACH PTCLDY 77 63 61 E17 30.14R
FT LAUDER-EXEC PTCLDY 75 62 64 E14G28 30.11R
FT LAUDERDALE CLOUDY 75 66 73 E16 30.10R
POMPANO BEACH CLEAR 76 64 66 E17G24 30.11R
PEMBROKE PINES RAIN 70 67 90 E16 30.14R FOG
OPA LOCKA LGT RAIN 73 67 81 NE20G30 30.12R
MIAMI MOCLDY 77 62 59 E13 30.11R
MIAMI BEACH N/A 77 68 74 E24G32 30.10R
WEST KENDALL PTCLDY 76 63 64 E16 30.09S
HOMESTEAD CLEAR 77 66 70 E14 30.10R

[JonathanBelles]

Winds are the same up here.

[Janie2006]

That high pressure ridge just keeps holding strong. I hope this isn't an emerging summer pattern. The easterly winds along the coast today were pretty gusty.

[Jinkers]

It was really windy here today, supposed to be like this thru the weekend

[StormTracker]

I am really surprised that people are actually heeding to rip-current warnings! I haven't heard of any accidents or drownings along the coast!!! I guess Mother Nature is finally getting the respect she deserves!!!

[Terry]

I'm a kayak angler and can tell you that the winds have been bad in the Tampa Bay area for the past four months and pretty brutal the past several weeks. The pattern can certainly change, but for now I'm not feeling real comfortable about this hurricane season.

[JonathanBelles]

Now that I think about it, It is quite scary.

[StormTracker]

I keep saying the same thing(to myself, nobody else wants to hear that)!!!

[Jinkers]

I've been having the same feeling, I'm not real comfortable with this year's hurricane season either, just a weird gut feeling tho.

[dixiebreeze]

The Easterlies are definitely early and strong and I'm not hearing nearly as much this May about Saharan dust. Eyes East.

[MGC]

This ridge has been reluctant to budge despite quite a few troughs that have made their way south this May. We really don't have to start worrying till the end of July though....MGC

[N2FSU]

Very strong easterly winds here in Tallahassee all week. It is bringing in a ton of smoke from the fires to the east of us and dropping vis to the 2-4 mile range.
Not a good sign if this holds all Summer/Fall.

[fci]

Great observation.
There is a definite connection between 2004 winds in May 2007.
Both years average 12 MPH while 2005 and 2006 average only 8 mph.

[jdray]

We have been under a Lake Wind Advisory all week in NE Florida

East winds 10-15 during the morning, 20-30 during the afternoon.


That ridge is VERY STRONG.....

[southerngreen]

"in like a lion & out like a lamb" for March never happened!
I have been amazed at the length of time and the strength of the wind for the past 6 weeks.
we have huge oaks all around our house (very tall) and they sway & creak & crack like they were broomstraws. funny thing is our neighbor lost one last week but it was the low spreading kind of oak - i guess it was the drought. (we lost several to dry weather a year or two before the 'year of storms' 2004.) we lost 18 trees from frances & jean.

[Patrick99]

Forget the hurricanes - if this strong east flow is persistent, Florida will be in even deeper trouble, water-wise. All this flow does is pump in dry air and the odd passing shower.

We remain lucky here in Miami-Dade. We had a pretty heavy shower come through a couple hours ago, though it was fast-moving.

[Scorpion]

Pretty nice weather though... really keeping the heat at bay

[olddude]

In the Keys winds have been out of the east since the 14th with the exception of the 18 & 19 when a mild front came thru. Wind speeds averaged in the high teens.

[Jinkers]

The wind speed has been in the high teens-low 20s, here in Hollywood FL too, been getting a few real quick downpours since yesturday, it's raining a little right now.

[Patrick99]

Hey, maybe the high will be so strong, and positioned such that it keeps everything south of Florida. It's happened plenty of times before.

Of course, if it's south of Florida, and a strong trough just happens to come by at precisely the right moment as in Charley and Donna....the thing about South Florida is that we can be hit from a fairly impressive variety of different directions! Even if the Bermuda High isn't positioned so that it would allow a hit from due east, that doesn't preclude a hit from another direction....