o 



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c 



V 

 O) 



I- ' 



0) 



> 



20 



10- 



-10 



20- 



■30 



■40- 



•50 



1:00 4:00 7:00 10.00 13:00 16:00 19:00 22:00 1:00 4:00 



TIME (E.S.T.) 



Figure 14. Mean monthly divergence curves for June through August 1963 

 over the Florida peninsula (adapted from Frank et al. 1967). 



frontals moving cold air masses 

 southward. Although the south Flor- 

 ida basin lies far enough to the 

 south to remain under the influence 

 of the easterlies year round (see 

 Figure 13; winter), a northerly 

 component, related to the synoptic 

 scale systems, affects the daily 

 weather patterns (Echternacht 1975). 

 Winter cold fronts pass over the 

 basin approximately once a week dur- 

 ing this dry season (Warzeski 1976). 

 Warzeski (1976) describes the cold 

 front in the Biscayne Bay region as 

 follows : 



"An average cold front affects wind 

 patterns in the Biscayne Bay region 

 for 4 to 5 days, involving a slow 

 360° clockwise rotation of wind 



direction (direction from which the 

 wind is blowing) . Winds rise above 

 ambient throughout this period, 

 reaching maxima roughly half a day 

 before and after passage of the 

 front itself. Maximum winds ahead 

 of the front are from the southwest 

 and reach 8 m/sec. Maximum winds 

 during an exceptional cold front can 

 reach 20 to 26 m/sec." 



Monthly wind speed and direc- 

 tion for the three first-order 

 weather stations triangulating the 

 basin (Ft. Myers, Miami, Key West) 

 are presented in Table 5 (USDC 

 1981a, 1981b, 1981c). The reported 

 wind directions are those most fre- 

 quently occurring during each month. 

 This method of comparison does not 



33 



