Good months to chase in Florida?

[Wayne Sclesky]

I recently relocated from Kansas City to Miami. I am here until late April then it is back the Central U.S. to chase for a month or so. I was just wondering what others thought about primary months to chase in Florida? Any input is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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[Amos Magliocco]

I was just cleaning up some old Florida pics when you posted this. I lived west of Fort Lauderdale from 1997 to May 1999. I saw some cool storms just about any month of the year, but I guess early spring is when the upper level support is such that sustained supercells are possible. The problem is catching them--it's a pretty narrow peninsula as I'm sure you've noticed.

I enjoyed the lightning opportunities and the cool little storms that fired over the Everglades and sat perfectly still, spitting out CG's and illuminating their whole cores. Here's some shots from Weston, Florida from 1997:

 

[George Tincher]

Wow Amos! Those are two breath-taking photos, especially the one on the bottom where the lake is creating that mirror effect. I had never seen either of those before. Thanks for sharing them.

-George

 

[Amos Magliocco]

Thanks, George. I didn't realize how good I had it at the time, with what amounted to a lightning studio basically in my backyard. I was still in shock from moving leaving the plains just as I had developed an interest in chasing the year before. But the job offer was too good to pass up, and I was young and up to my eyeballs in debt. In retrospect, the three year exile made possible much of the chasing that came after.

Some similar images are here:

http://www.cycloneroad.com/gallery.htm

AM

 

[Justin Turcotte]

From Brooks, Doswell, and Kay 2003: Climatological Estimates of Local Daily Tornado Probability for the US, WAF, 18, 626-640...
Florida as a whole doesn't appear to have a true season though certain portions seem to have seasonality. Separating the waterspouts from the supercells makes the data more complex. Then there is El Nino thrown in and research seems inclonclusive as to its impact. I did my own research in this arena and found no significant correlation but there may be a spatial impact between warm and cool ENSO periods. If someone is really interested I have the paper on my site with references to various FL tornado papers.

http://snrs.unl.edu/amet898/turcotte/secon...daTornadoes.PDF

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[Wayne Sclesky]

Well dangit...

I guess until I come back the Central U.S. I will just have to spend my time walking the beach looking at the overweight European men in speedos...and no I am not kidding...they are out there! Thanks guys!