Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Jacksonville, FL

July 31, 1986Alachua County, Putnam County, Florida

NWS Jacksonville, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 1986, 7:30 PM EDT for Alachua County, Putnam County, Florida. It was in force for 45 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 31, 1986, 7:30 PM EDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 1986, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Jacksonville, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Alachua County, FL, Putnam County, FL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 218 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1986-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2543 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1986-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 14 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2543 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
609 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KJAX 312336
TORJAX
FLC001-107-010015-

BULLETIN-EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
730 PM EDT THU JUL 31 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 815 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST
FLORIDA...ALACHUA PUTNAM.

AT 725 PM EDT THE ALACHUA COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE REPORTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD NEAR HAWTHORNE IN ALACHUA COUNTY. RADAR INDICATES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...YOU SHOULD GO TO A BASEMENT
SHELTER IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED $FOR
A REINFORCED BUILDING.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 5:02 PM EDT, 2 hours 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
500 PM EDT THU JUL 31 1986

AT 455 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING
ACROSS NORTHEAST FLORIDA WITH A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR
WELLBORN IN SUWANNEE COUNTY. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ARE INDICATED
IN ST JOHNS COUNTY NEAR SWITZERLAND..IN THE ORANGE PARK AREA AND
ALONG THE COAST NEAR PONTE VEDRA THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOW LITTLE
MOVEMENT.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE BE ACCOMPANIED BY PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
WHICH MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS..LOW AREAS..
DRAINAGE DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. THEY MAY ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY..GUSTY
WINDS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 6:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
600 PM EDT THU JUL 31 1986

AT 555 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST
FLORIDA BETWEEN STARKE AND CAMP BLANDING..NEAR KEYSTONE HEIGHTS AND
JUST TO THE WEST OF ST AUGUSTINE. OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE
BETWEEN FORT WHITE AND MAYO AND JUST OFFSHORE FROM PONTE VEDRA TO ST
AUGUSTINE. THE THUNDERSTORM ARE MOVING TO THE SOUTH AT ABOUT 15 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE BE ACCOMPANIED BY PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
WHICH MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS..LOW AREAS..
DRAINAGE DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. THEY MAY ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY..GUSTY
WINDS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.

MARINE INTEREST OPERATING IN THE COASTAL WATERS FROM MAYPORT TO ST
AUGUSTINE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR GUSTY WINDS..BUILDING SEAS..AND POOR
VISIBILITY WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.