SurfJaxPier

WED AM - Jax Pier: Same old ankle to knee high easterly background trickling in this morning. It's looking pretty weak out there right now, but we may see more of a longboardable wave around mid-day like we did yesterday with the incoming tide push. Overall it's not looking so good out there right now. Check back for the afternoon update. We should see continued ESE background swell in the water thought the week. Check back to stay on top of it. SPONSOR NEWS: BUY you next car at the BEACH! AutoLine has the BEST selection of Pre-Owned inventory right here at the beaches. Make sure to mention SurfJaxPier & get $500 off your next purchase!! (904)242-8000

TUES PM - Jax Pier: Surf has picked up a little since this morning. Knee to thigh high on the sets with super clean conditions. Overall it's looking pretty weak.... but it is ridable. Bring the small wave gear for sure if your headed out for a check and you might catch a few decent ones. We should see continued ESE background swell in the water thought the week. We may get lucky and see a few longboardable/gromable waves with the tidal push. Check back to stay on top of it. ANOTHER CONGRATS to GHive.com Team rider Evana Thompson for pulling 3rd in the NIKE 6.0 PIER PRESSURE PRO JUNIOR yesterday! Evan really been on fire over there and the results are showing it. Results/Pix/Video: www.nike6pierpressure.com

TUES AM - JAX PIER: 6-12 inches out there this morning. Possibly a few 18inch sets. A classic sign of a flat spell is when start calling the report in inches instead of feet. There were 2 longboarders about 4 boardwalks south of the pier giving a little mini sandbar a chance... but overall it's looking pretty small again this morning. If the winds stay offshore through the afternoon, we may see a small longboard wave with the incoming tide push. Check back for the afternoon update. We should see continued ESE background swell in the water thought the upcoming week. We may get lucky and see a few longboardable/gromable waves with the tidal push. Check back to stay on top of it. ANOTHER CONGRATS  to GHive.com Team rider Evana Thompson for pulling 3rd in the NIKE 6.0 PIER PRESSURE PRO JUNIOR yesterday! Evan really been on fire over there and the results are showing it. Results/Pix/Video: www.nike6pierpressure.com

MON PM - JAX PIER: Looking very hot and very flat this afternoon. 4-6 inches with a very occasional 12in high set. Still offshore and clean... just flat. We should see continued ESE background swell in the water thought the upcoming week. We may get lucky and see a few longboardable/gromable waves with the tidal push. Check back to stay on top of it. CONGRATS to GHive.com Team rider Evana Thompson for pulling 2nd in the NSSA NATIONALS Open Mens & 4th in Exp Juniors! Evan held his ground against top upcoming rippers Kolohe Andino, Fisher Heverly and others. Results/Pix/Video: www.nssalive.com

MON AM - JAX PIER: Looking like a carbon copy of yesterday morning... maybe an inch or two larger on the sets though. There were 3 longboarders out at report time, but overall not a whole lot of action out there. 4-6 inches with an occasional 12in high set. Offshore and clean... just really small. Check back for the afternoon update to see if the incoming tide does anything for this clean micro swell. We should see continued ESE background swell in the water thought the upcoming week. We may get lucky and see a few longboardable/gromable waves with the tidal push. Check back to stay on top of it. CONGRATS to GHive.com Team rider Evana Thompson for pulling 2nd in the NSSA NATIONALS Open Mens & 4th in Exp Juniors! Evan held his ground against top upcoming rippers Kolohe Andino, Fisher Heverly and others. Results/Pix/Video: www.nssalive.com

SUN AM - JAX PIER: Lake Atlantic this Sunday morning. I'm not seeing anything over 4-6 inches out there. Offshore and clean... just flat. Not sure if the incoming tide will do much for us today. CONGRATS to Evana Thompson for pulling 2nd in the NSSA NATIONALS Open Mens & 4th in Exp Juniors! Evan held his ground against top upcoming rippers Kolohe Andino, Fisher Heverly and others. Resluts: www.nssalive.com  - SPONSOR NEWS: SJP welcomes DH Ding Repairs AKA "THE DING KING" to the sponsorship fam! Get that busted board fixed before our next swell.. with a top notch repair job!! Tell David SJP sent you and he'll hook you up. (904)994-0575

SAT PM - JAX PIER: Still small, but we do have some slight improvement since this morning's report. Clean knee to thigh + peelers coming in at report time. Bring the small wave board if your headed out for a check. Overall it's a nice beach day out there go get some before it's gone! Poles looked a little better this afternoon. Make sure to check the POLES report below. SPONSOR NEWS: SJP welcomes DH Ding Repairs AKA "THE DING KING" to the sponsorship fam! Get that busted board fixed before our next swell.. with a top notch repair job!! Tell David SJP sent you and he'll hook you up. (904)994-0575

CONTENT & PHOTOS provided by www.jacksonville.com

In their headquarters by the St. Johns River, American Red Cross officials were printing out materials about tornado drill exercises Friday evening when someone spotted the waterspout outside.

Not knowing if the swirling funnel would make landfall, emergency officials herded volunteers who were there for a disaster training class into the basement.

As it turned out, National Weather Service experts said later they didn’t believe the storm system that lingered over the river ever made landfall as a tornado. It began after two weather systems intersected in southern Putnam County, lead forecaster Scott Carroll said.

The waterspout was visible in the downtown Jacksonville area for about 15 minutes starting about 5 p.m. It seemed to make its way toward the city’s downtown from the Westside before dissipating near the Fuller Warren Bridge.

At nearby St. Vincent’s Medical Center, some hospital staff began tracking the storm about 20 minutes before it became visible at the waterfront facility, spokeswoman Candy Bowen  said.

Bowen said she first learned about the waterspout from a photo posted on Jacksonville.com’s Twitter account. After she went outside and saw it rapidly heading for the hospital, she began to “freak out.”

But while hospital officials put personnel on each floor on standby, they didn’t have to evacuate any patients. Outside the hospital, there was flooding later on Riverside Avenue.

Authorities blamed lightning strikes for two house fires that left a total of seven people

temporarily homeless. One fire was at 5769 Birds Nest Lane  on the Westside. The other was at 5085 Ripple Rush Drive North  in Mandarin.

The bolt ripped a 6 foot-by-3-foot hole in the roof of the Mandarin home while four people were inside. They were able to get out safely, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue spokesman John Bracey said.

The Red Cross responded to assist an adult and two children left stranded by the Westside blaze, agency spokeswoman Christian Smith said. Authorities said firefighters had both blazes under control within about 20 minutes.

Rescuers also believe weather may have played a role in a crash on Interstate 295 near Interstate 95 on the city’s southern side. Firefighters carved the driver of a tractor-trailer out of his rig after that vehicle and wrecker that was towing two cars were in a crash. They took both drivers to area hospitals, but their injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening.

Starting at about 6 p.m., the Coast Guard and other agencies began searching the water near the Buckman Bridge after a report of four people on a vessel in distress. By 7:15 p.m., Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Cindy Beckert  said the search hadn’t turned up a vessel and authorities couldn’t confirm whether it existed.

On their Web site, JEA officials reported power outages for about 8,300 customers by 6 p.m. Firefighters also got about 10 reports about downed wires within the hour of when the water spout appeared.

Throughout the early evening, Red Cross officials remained on alert at headquarters while waiting for damage reports to filter in. When they didn’t arrive, the volunteers went home, to return to headquarters today for more disaster training.

Times-Union writers Josh Salman and Jessie Lynne-Kerr contributed to this report.

bridget.murphy@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4161

Times-Union photographer Kelly Jordan recorded video of the water spout around 5:30p.m.

CONTENT & PHOTOS provided by www.jacksonville.com