Afternoon plans in central Palm Beach County got an unwelcome jolt Monday when the National Weather Service in Miami issued a special weather statement for a strong thunderstorm packing damaging wind gusts. The alert zeroed in on neighborhoods near Lion Country Safari, Loxahatchee Groves and surrounding west-county communities, and was in effect through 4:45 PM EDT.
In a post on X, the National Weather Service in Miami warned that the storm could whip up gusts near 50 mph and urged anyone in the path to head indoors and stay there until the worst moved through.
A special weather statement has been issued for Palm Beach County, FL until 4:45 PM EDT https://t.co/q4BALh71Uj
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) June 29, 2026
Storm Tracked Near Lion Country Safari
According to the special weather statement from the National Weather Service, meteorologists at 4:03 PM EDT were tracking a strong thunderstorm over Lion Country Safari Park, about 10 miles northwest of Wellington. Radar indicated wind hazards in the 45 to 50 mph range, and the product listed a top gust of 50 mph, with no hail reported.
Who Was in the Path and How to Protect Yourself
The NWS identified Lion Country Safari Park, Loxahatchee Groves and the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge as locations in the storm’s path and cautioned that “These winds can down small tree limbs and branches, and blow around unsecured small objects.” The advisory urged people to get inside a sturdy building and stay put until the storm passed.
A Familiar Late-Afternoon Pattern
Fast-moving, narrow storm cores are a staple of South Florida’s wet-season afternoons, and similar alerts have been hitting Palm Beach County throughout the month. Those cells have already produced brief outages and downed limbs, as recent local coverage noted. Forecasters point to collisions between sea breezes and deep tropical moisture, a combo that makes these punchy thunderstorms tough to pin down more than a few minutes ahead of time…