Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Jacksonville, FL

August 11, 1987Putnam County, Florida

NWS Jacksonville, FL issued this tornado warning at Aug 11, 1987, 5:51 PM EDT for Putnam County, Florida. It was in force for 39 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 1987, 5:51 PM EDT (21:51 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 1987, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Jacksonville, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Putnam County, FL

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 11, 6:30 PM EDTTornado F0Putnam, FL

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KAYS), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 99 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, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 1987-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1374 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 1987-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
1374 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-86 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
981 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
45 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 112151
TORJAX
FLC107-112230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
551 PM EDT TUE AUG 11 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 630 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

NORTHEAST FLORIDA...PUTNAM

AT 540 PM EDT...PUTNAM COUNTY SHERRIFS OFFICE CONFIRMED A
TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR WELAKA ON COUNTY ROAD 308.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE..SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT..SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT
AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN
THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE OTHERWISE..GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A
REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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, Aug 11, 5:33 PM EDT, 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
530 PM EDT TUE AUG 11 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA...

IN THE PAST HOUR...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FROM THE WEST SIDE OF JACKSONVILLE
SOUTH THROUGH MIDDLEBURG TO NEAR PALATKA. ANOTHER AREA CONTINUED
BETWEEN LAKE CITY AND WEST GAINESVILLE.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD
CONTINUE DEVELOPING THROUGHOUT THE EVENING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE ACCOMPANIED BY PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS..
FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.

REMEMBER..WHEN A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS ALL LIGHTNING EXPERTS AGREE
THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS TO GET INSIDE A
HOME OR LARGE BUILDING. PEOPLE ON GOLF COURSES..BASEBALL FIELDS..
BEACHES OR FISHING PIERS SHOULD SEEK SHELTER WHEN A THUNDESTORM
IS NEARBY.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes in 1987

Sources

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