Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Miami, FL

July 19, 1987Miami-Dade County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 19, 1987, 11:53 AM EDT for Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 19, 1987, 11:53 AM EDT (15:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 19, 1987, 12:40 PM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Miami-Dade 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

Key West, FL (KEYW), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 169 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, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 1987-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2284 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 1987-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 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
2284 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
727 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 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 KMIA 191553
TORMIA
FLC025-191700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1153 AM EDT SUN JUL 19 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA...DADE

WEATHER RADAR HAS INDICATED THE POSSIBILITY OF A TORNADO FORMING
OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH DADE COUNTY...INCLUDING
NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND CORAL GABLES...SOUTH MIAMI...KENDALL...
AND ADJACENT AREAS.

THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DEVELOPING SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WHICH ALSO WILL BE PRODUCING STRONG STRAIGHT-LINE
WIND GUSTS FOLLOWED BY VERY HEAVY RAIN.

PERSONS IN THE WARNING AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER AND STAY IN A SAFE BUILDING UNTIL THIS STORM PASSES.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY..AND YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE OFFICE.

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 19, 10:29 AM EDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEST PALM BEACH FL
1028 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND OFF SHORE SOUTHEAST CPAST...

AT 1022 AM RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OFF SHORE ST LUCIE..
MARTIN AND PALM-BEACH COUNTIES. HEAVIEST STORMS WERE 15 MILES EAST
STUART AND 15 TO 20 MILES OFF SHORE BOYTON BEACH AND BOCA RATON.
THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAINS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL
ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.

MARINE INTERESTS ALONG THE COAST SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS HIGH SEAS AND
STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VISIBILITIES
NEAR ZERO FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS..SSO SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHING OCCURRING REPORT IT TO YOUR NEAREST LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AT ONCE. STAY TUNED TO RADIO AND TV FOR LATEST
UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 10:30 AM EDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEST PALM BEACH FL
1028 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND OFF SHORE SOUTHEAST COAST...

AT 1022 AM RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OFF SHORE ST LUCIE..
MARTIN AND PALM-BEACH COUNTIES. HEAVIEST STORMS WERE 15 MILES EAST
STUART AND 15 TO 20 MILES OFF SHORE BOYTON BEACH AND BOCA RATON.
THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAINS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL
ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.

MARINE INTERESTS ALONG THE COAST SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS HIGH SEAS AND
STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VISIBILITIES
NEAR ZERO FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS..SOU SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHING OCCURRING REPORT IT TO YOUR NEAREST LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AT ONCE. STAY TUNED TO RADIO AND TV FOR LATEST
UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 10:35 AM EDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE STATEMENT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEST PALM BEACH FL
1028 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND OFF SHORE SOUTHEAST COAST...

AT 1022 AM RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OFF SHORE ST LUCIE..
MARTIN AND PALM-BEACH COUNTIES. HEAVIEST STORMS WERE 15 MILES EAST
STUART AND 15 TO 20 MILES OFF SHORE BOYTON BEACH AND BOCA RATON.
THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAINS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL
ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.

MARINE INTERESTS ALONG THE COAST SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS HIGH SEAS AND
STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VISIBILITIES
NEAR ZERO FOR THE NEXWT 2 HOURS..SO SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHING OCCURRING REPORT IT TO YOUR NEAREST LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AT ONCE. STAY TUNED TO RADIO AND TV FOR LATEST
UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 11:47 AM EDT, 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1140 AM EDT SUN JUL 19 1987

AT 1140AM...RADAR INDICATED LARGE AREAS OF RAIN WITH EMBEDDED VERY
HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER DADE AND BROWARD COUNTIES AND THE UPPER KEYS.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THIS AREA MAY
PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES...REDUCED
VISIBILITIES...VERY HEAVY RAIN DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. THIS
AREA EXTENDS TO THE COASTAL WATERS AND THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN
BAHAMAS AND THE CAY SAL BANK. MOVEMENT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS
WEST AT 10 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME VERY HEAVY...WERE OVER THE
REMAINING PORTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA SOUTH OF VERO BEACH AND LAKE
OKEECHOBEE TO THE MIDDLE AND LOWER KEYS AND THE ADJACENT WATERS.

LARGE AREAS OF RAIN CONTINUED OVER THE SOUTHEAST GULF WELL OFFSHORE
THE SOUTHWEST COAST AND LOWER KEYS.

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.