1994 — Nov 13-18, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Gordon, especially FL — 11

 

Costa Rica      — 6  United Press International. (Cited in Pasch.)

Cuba  — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998 update.[1]

Dominican Rep.: — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Rpt. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998.[2]

Haiti:

—   531  Associated Press (quoting Haitian government officials). 11-19-1994. (Cited in Pasch.)

—   829  Miami Herald, 12-24-1994. (Cited in Pasch.)

–1,122  United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs. Geneva. 12-21-1994. (In: Pasch)

Jamaica  — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998 update.[3]

 

United States:

–11  NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 19.

 

Florida:

–11  NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 19.

–8  Direct (7 drownings and 1 tornado blunt force trauma)

–3  Indirect

–1  Heart attack while pushing a car stalled in a flooded road.

–2  Traffic Accidents

— 8  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 November 1994. 12-25-1998 update.

–1  Brevard Co., Micco, Nov 15. Trauma to head; waterspout F2 tornado; male, 74.[4]

–1  Broward County, Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Nov 18. Drowning; rip current; male, 35.[5]

–2  Broward Co., Hillsboro Inlet. Drownings; boat capsized “by swells from Gordon.”

–1  Dade County, Haulover Beach. Drowning; male surfer.

–1  Dade County. “One woman drowned along a north Dade beach.”

–1  Dade County. Drowning; car goes into Miami River during heavy rain; male.

–1  Dade County. Drowning; car “plunged into a canal during heavy rains.”

 

Narrative Information

 

NCDC: “Tropical Storm Gordon, after a serpentine track through the Caribbean Sea, began affecting south Florida on the 13th when located off the northeast coast of Cuba. Gordon moved slowly west northwest reaching the lower Florida Keys late on the 15th. On the 16th, Gordon turned northeast and accelerated, moving inland near Ft. Myers in the morning and exiting into the Atlantic just north of Vero Beach in the late afternoon. After becoming a hurricane off of the coast of North Carolina, then weakening to a tropical depression and moving south and west, Gordon moved ashore a second time just north of Melbourne on the 21st. Over land, the maximum sustained wind was measured at 53 mph at Virginia Key in east Dade County, and the minimum central pressure was 995 m b shortly after initial landfall near Ft. Myers.

 

“Gordon directly caused 8 fatalities and 43 injuries. Seven of the deaths were drownings, five in the Atlantic off of the southeast coast, and two when cars plunged into canals in Dade County. One death and 40 injuries resulted from a tornado in Brevard County, one of six tornados spun off by Gordon. There were three indirect deaths, one from a heart attack while pushing a car stalled in a flooded road, and two in traffic accidents.

 

“Gordon’s total damage is estimated around $400 million. Agricultural interests suffered $275 million in losses, primarily from fresh-water flooding caused by widespread rainfalls totaling 6 to 16 inches. Vegetable and tropical fruit crops in south Florida were particularly hard hit. Inland flooding caused damage to buildings through both rising fresh-water and collapse of rain-loaded roofs. Especially hard hit was Volusia County where 1236 buildings (977 single family homes, 68 mobile homes and 139 multi-family buildings) reported flood damage, and losses were estimated at over $26 million. Public works suffered from the effects of both water and wind with damage to roadways, sewer facilities, utility lines and signs. Marine effects included several boat sinkings or groundings, including a 506-foot freighter which was beached off of Ft. Lauderdale. At least 37 people were rescued from sinking boats. One woman was rescued after being swept 1,000 yards off of a fishing pier in Boynton Beach. Atlantic beaches suffered moderate to locally severe erosion which undermined a few buildings. A number of sea walls and beach access walks were destroyed. Some coastal roads along the east coast were inundated by a storm surge, estimated to be a maximum of 1 to 2 feet along Miami Beach.”

 

Sources

 

Associated Press (Barefoot Bay, FL). “Gordon has transformed to hurricane.” Brownsville Herald, TX, 12-18-1994, 12A. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=185510048&sterm

 

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena With Late Reports and Corrections. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994. Accessed 10-27-2014 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-E58939EC-4697-479F-BCEA-58EA30D046BF.pdf

 

Pasch, Richard J. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 November 1994. Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, NCEP, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1-10-1995; updated 12-25-1998. Accessed 10-27-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1994gordon.html

 

 

[1] Cites “reports.”

[2] Cites “reports.”

[3] Cites “reports.”

[4] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 20. Writes “A waterspout-F2 tornado, on the outer fringes of tropical storm Gordon, struck the Barefoot Bay area of southern Brevard County around 6:53 PM. A 74-year-old male was killed by trauma to the head, and about 40 people were injured. Six were hospitalized…The waterspout made landfall just south of the entrance to Barefoot Bay on US Highway 1. The tornado moved northwest through the Snug Harbor/Barefoot Bay mobile home community. About 62 mobile homes were destroyed, 46 received major damage and 181 had minor damage. The tornado exited the community and continued on the ground or in the tree-tops for about a mile. Total path length was about 2.5 miles with a width between 25 and 50 yards. At the end of the track a funnel cloud was reported by a truck operator on Interstate 95 in southern Brevard County  Property damage is estimated near $10 million.” Victim identified as Jack Fuller in AP (Barefoot Bay, FL). “Gordon has transformed to hurricane.” Brownsville Herald, TX, 12-18-1994, 12A.

[5] “…while rescuing his 8-year old son.” NCDC Storm Date report writes: “A 35-year-old doctor at Harvard Medical School drowned in a rip current while saving his 8-year-old son. The incident took place at a private motel beach south of Ft. Lauderdale Beach and was caused by large swells from Gordon.”