Double-digit rainfalls, tropical force wind gusts hit Key Largo, Ocean Reef in Keys

The Florida Keys, particularly around Key Largo and Ocean Reef, took a hit from the heavy downpours and wind gusts stemming from the storm that drenched South Florida, with at least one gust topping 86 mph, hurricane force.

The island chain, particularly the Middle to Upper Keys areas from Marathon to Key Largo, saw conditions between Wednesday and Thursday that if one didn’t know better, could think were due to a low-category hurricane or tropical storm.

“Crazy weather,” said Chief Don Bock of the Key Largo Fire Department.

His crews responded to more than 30 calls between 9 p.m. Wednesday and noon Thursday, dealing with trees blocking roads and downed power lines, he said.

The two roads heading in and out of the Keys — the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1, and Card Sound Road, both of which lead from Florida City to Key Largo — showed considerable tell-tale signs of heavy weather. Scattered debris and flooding prompted officials to close Card Sound Road Thursday morning. It reopened about 3 p.m.

And, on the Stretch, which is used much more frequently than Card Sound Road by drivers entering and leaving the Keys, seaweed was strewn about the northbound lanes that abut Lake Surprise and Biscayne Bay. And, much of the fencing the Florida Department of Transportation installed along the southern portion of the highway was destroyed by wind and storm surge.

Once into Key Largo proper, crews clearing downed trees off roadways and away from power lines were a common sight Thursday morning.

5,000 power outages

Fortunately, there were no reported storm-related deaths or injuries, said Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt.

The Florida Keys Electric Cooperative, which provides power to homes and businesses from Key Largo to the Lower Keys, reported 5,000 outages between Wednesday and Thursday, with as many as 2,500 customers being without electricity at one time for a short window early Thursday morning, said the utility’s spokeswoman, Nikki Dunn Cullen.

“All of our crews our out there working in the area,” Dunn Cullen said, noting that their diligence resulted in fewer than 400 customers being without power by late Thursday morning.

Keys Energy Services, the utility that provides electricity from the Lower Keys to Key West, had no active outages of late Thursday morning, said its spokesman Michael Wedincamp.

That’s because the brunt of the weather was felt much farther northeast in the Upper Keys, said Jonathan Rizzo, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service Key West.

Key Largo, Ocean Reef drenched, high wind gusts

According to the weather service’s measuring station in Key Largo, up to 19 inches of rain fell between Wednesday and Thursday, Rizzo said.

“The high winds and rains progressed more and more as you made your way up to Key Largo and Ocean Reef,” Rizzo told the Herald.

Another weather service station measured 14 inches of rain in Key Largo, Rizzo said.

Wind gusts were also abnormally powerful for this time of year. On land, a gust of 66 mph was measured at Ocean Reef Club Airport in Key Largo, and offshore, a peak wind gust of 86 mph was recorded at Carysfort Reef Lighthouse, Rizzo said.

Contrast that with Key West, which saw a little over an inch of rain at Key West International Airport and a top wind gust of 47 mph at Naval Air Station Key West, Rizzo said.

Rizzo said that what was responsible for the soggy and windy weather was a “non-tropical low-pressure system that sat over the archipelago for more than a day. It was very much enriched by deep tropical moisture streaming north from the western Caribbean Sea.”

The good news is that dry weather is expected through the weekend. However, because the storm coincided with higher-than usual seasonal tides, areas that experienced coastal flooding may have to wait a few days for the water to go down.

“It’s going to be a while for the water to recede,” Rizzo said.