Average cloud-to-ground lightning flash density values for Florida have been calculated for the 10-yr period 1986-95. An annual mean map and monthly mean maps were constructed from a database exceeding 25 million flashes. These maps represent a 10-yr climatology of the geographic distribution of detected cloud-to-ground lightning flashes and provide an insight into the thunderstorm distribution in Florida. The locations of relative areas of lightning maxima and minima are strongly affected by the various combinations of synoptic and mesoscale contributions and are discussed. During the cool season, November-February, the greatest flash densities occur over the panhandle from storms mostly associated with midlatitude synoptic-scale systems. During the spring transitional period of March-May, flash densities increase over the entire state as synoptic contributions transition to mesoscale. Flash density totals in the warm season, June-August, exceed 10 flashes km Ϫ2 in the central part of Florida. Flash density maxima in the summer are locally enhanced by mesoscale convergence and convection, especially along the west and east coasts of the central peninsula. Neither the panhandle nor the south peninsula show these impressive maxima. During the autumn transition period, September and October, flash densities decrease sharply across the state except for an area maximum that does remain over the eastern part of the peninsula.

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On 25 March 1995, a large solitary wave, seemingly from nowhere, washed ashore along the normally tranquil Gulf Coast of Florida from Tampa Bay to south of Naples. On this Saturday morning, many beachgoers and coastal residents saw either a large wave, a surge, or a seiche. The wave was typically described as 3 m or greater, breaking between 0.5 and 3 km offshore, and taking 120-180 s to arrive at the shore. Just prior to the wave's arrival at the beach, witnesses reported a rapid runout of water, then a huge 15-25-m runup of water onto the beach corresponding to a 2-3-m vertical run-up height. Some people reported several smaller waves. This was likely due to local effects. This wave was generated and amplified by a large-amplitude atmospheric gravity wave transiting southeastward over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The atmospheric gravity wave and the water wave moved over a channel of water depth sufficient to maintain the waves in phase allowing resonation of the shallow water wave. Surface winds appeared to have a negligible affect, increasing only slightly (3-5 m s _1) along the path of the atmospheric gravity wave and opposing propagation of the water wave.

The presence of a near‐record El Niño and a positive Pacific Meridional Mode provided an extraordinarily warm background state that fueled the 2015 eastern North Pacific hurricane season to near‐record levels. We find that the western portion of the eastern North Pacific, referred to as the Western Development Region (WDR; 10°–20°N, 116°W–180°), set records for named storms, hurricane days, and Accumulated Cyclone Energy in 2015. When analyzing large‐scale environmental conditions, we show that record warm sea surface temperatures, high midlevel relative humidity, high low‐level relative vorticity, and record low vertical wind shear were among the environmental forcing factors contributing to the observed tropical cyclone activity. We assess how intraseasonal atmospheric variability may have contributed to active and inactive periods observed during the 2015 hurricane season. We document that, historically, active seasons are associated with May–June El Niño conditions, potentially allowing for predictability of future active WDR seasons.