3D Weather Radar Animation - June 26, 2009 Jacksonville, FL Waterspout

On June 26, 2009 an eastbound outflow boundary collided with the Atlantic seabreeze over the St Johns River in Jacksonville, FL. The resultant Waterspout was quite spectacular both in the many eyewitness accounts and photos and the WSR-88D NEXRAD Radar scans. Following is a RainmanWeather exclusive 3D Weather Radar Animation and the official NWS Public Information Statement concerning the event.

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Public Information Statement

FLZ025-270715-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
915 PM EDT FRI JUN 26 2009

...SAINT JOHNS RIVER WATERSPOUT SUMMARY...

AT APPROXIMATELY 500 PM THIS AFTERNOON...A WATERSPOUT TOUCHED DOWN
ALONG THE SAINT JOHNS RIVER NORTH OF THE BUCKMAN BRIDGE. THE
WATERSPOUT FOLLOWED THE RIVER GENERALLY NORTHWARD TO NORTHEAST OF
THE ORTEGA RIVER ENTRANCE AND SOUTH OF THE FULLER WARREN BRIDGE NEAR
DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE BEFORE DISSIPATING. PER EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS AND
LIVE TV WEB-CAM FOOTAGE...THERE MAY HAVE BEEN TWO SEPARATE
WATERSPOUTS NEAR THE ORTEGA RIVER ENTRANCE.

DUE TO THE LIGHT WINDS IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND
HIGH ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY...CONDITIONS WERE FAVORABLE FOR
WATERSPOUT DEVELOPMENT. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EARLIER IN THE
AFTERNOON PRODUCED A WELL-DEFINED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OVER THE
INTERIOR OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA. THIS BOUNDARY RACED NORTHEAST AND
COLLIDED WITH THE ATLANTIC COAST SEABREEZE BY MID-AFTERNOON. STRONG
TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ERUPTED ALONG THIS COLLISION...BEGINNING IN
SOUTHERN PUTNAM COUNTY AND DEVELOPING NORTHWARD AS THE BOUNDARIES
CONTINUED TO INTERACT.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SAINT JOHNS COUNTY PRODUCED ITS OWN
OUTFLOW BOUNDARY BY 430 PM...AND THIS TRAVELED NORTHWARD ALONG THE
INITIAL COLLISION ZONE. THE INTERACTION OF THESE THREE BOUNDARIES WAS
ENOUGH TO PRODUCE A SMALL AREA OF STRONG ROTATION OVER THE SAINT
JOHNS RIVER. THE 2 MILE WIDTH OF THE RIVER IN THIS AREA AND ITS
RELATIVELY LOW SURFACE FRICTION WAS AN IDEAL LOCATION FOR THE
WATERSPOUT TO DEVELOP. THE NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTATION OF THE RIVER
ALLOWED THE EXTENDED PATH LENGTH AND ACCOUNTED FOR THE WATERSPOUT NOT
CROSSING ANY LAND AREAS.