Prelimimary NWS Miami Offical Wind Report

[TampaFl]

NOUS42 KMFL 251740
PNSMFL
FLZ063-066>075-252200-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
139 PM EDT TUE OCT 25 2005

...PRELIMINARY WIND INFORMATION FOR HURRICANE WILMA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE IN MIAMI HAS COMPILED
SOME PRELIMINARY SOUTH FLORIDA PEAK WIND INFORMATION FOR HURRICANE WILMA. THIS
INFORMATION IS FROM OFFICIAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OR FEDERAL
AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVING SYSTEM SITES...ASOS...AT
SOUTH FLORIDA AIRPORTS.


AIRPORT ASOS HIGHEST PEAK
SUSTAINED TIME GUST TIME
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAMI INTL 67 MPH 830 AM EDT 92 MPH 752 AND 756 AM EDT
FT LAUDERDALE 70 811 AM EDT 99 830 AM EDT
PALM BEACH INT 82 910 AM EDT 101 914 AM EDT

THE FOLLOWING RECORDS ARE INCOMPLETE DUE TO INSTRUMENT FAILURE

POMPANO BEACH 83 840 AM EDT 98 818 AND 837 AM EDT
NAPLES 61 807 AM EDT 82 802 AM EDT
OPA LOCKA 85 816 AM EDT 105 813 AM EDT
TAMIAMI 58 733 AM EDT 83 738 AM EDT

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT BOTH PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND FORT
LAUDERDALE/HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EXPERIENCED WIND MAXIMA FROM NEARLY
OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS ON TWO SIDES OF THE EYE.

FT LAUDERDALE 70 SE 811 AM EDT 82 811 AM EDT FRONT
69 W 1053 AM EDT 95 1053 AM EDT BACK

PALM BEACH INT 82 SE 910 AM EDT 100 910 AM EDT FRONT
76 NW 1153 AM EDT 100 1153 AM EDT BACK

THE HIGHEST RECORDED WIND SPEED IN SOUTH FLORIDA SO FAR WAS AT FOWEY ROCKS LIGHT
NATIONAL DATA BUOY CENTER C-MAN SITE SOUTH OF KEY BISCAYNE. FOWEY ROCKS LIGHT
ANEMOMETER IS AT A NON-STANDARD HEIGHT OF NEARLY 145 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL.
STANDARD ANEMOMETER HEIGHT IS APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET.

FOWEY ROCKS 85 752 AM EDT 123 843 AM EDT



[DCA]

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/text.php?sid=MFL&pil=PNS&version=0

Above press release does not cut and paste too well. Here is a link to the NWS Miami site with the release.

[dhweather]

145 feet above MSL ?? What on earth for? That basically invalidates this
as a surface wind.

[DCA]

This same problem came up during Hurricane Andrew and the National Data Buoy Center used a boundary-layer model to convert the sustained wind to a 33 ft elevation (standard height). In Andrew's case, the conversion was about .87.

Obviously, the boundary-layer was different for Wilma, but using it [.87], yields a wind gust of 108 MPH, which, at least on early review, seems to be fairly comparable to other gusts in Miami-Dade County.

[P.K.]

145 feet above MSL ?? What on earth for? That basically invalidates this
as a surface wind.

lol, almost 50m up compared to the standard of 10m. 50m up is a fair way through the surface layer.

[Recurve]

145 feet above MSL ?? What on earth for? That basically invalidates this
as a surface wind.

It's a "lighthouse" -- a navigation aid. The operational platform is high for a reason. It's not a CMAN.

[dhweather]

145 feet above MSL ?? What on earth for? That basically invalidates this
as a surface wind.

It's a "lighthouse" -- a navigation aid. The operational platform is high for a reason. It's not a CMAN.

Thanks for the explanation - I was quite curious why its elevation was so high!

[Myersgirl]

Just got power back in Fort Myers, our neighbors 30 x 40 lanai is in our front yard. I was wondering about the wind speeds here as well, we have been in a information black hole.

[Brent]

Just got power back in Fort Myers, our neighbors 30 x 40 lanai is in our front yard. I was wondering about the wind speeds here as well, we have been in a information black hole.

From NWS Tampa:

LEE.............FORT MYERS (FMY)......350/54.....10/24/05...1216Z
FORT MYERS (RSW)......340/51.....10/24/05...1229Z

So... 51-54 kt(60-65 mph)