Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

May 13, 1987Lee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at May 13, 1987, 3:32 PM EDT for Lee County, Florida. It was in force for 3 hr. 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
May 13, 1987, 3:32 PM EDT (19:32 UTC)
Expired
May 13, 1987, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Lee 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
May 13, 5:30 PM EDTTornado F1Lee, 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

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 132 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 1987-05-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 874 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1987-05-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 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
874 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
707 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
28 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 KTBW 132132 RRA
TORTBW
FLC071-132230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN FL
532 PM EDT WED MAY 13 1987

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

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...WESTERN LEE
...THIS WARNING ALSO INCLUDES THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS FOR THE
COUNTY JUST MENTIONED

 A CONFIRMED TORNADO TOUCHDOWN HAS BEEN REPORTED BY LEE COUNTY
 SHERIFFS OFFICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES IN THE SOUTH PORTION OF
 CAPE CORAL...DAMAGING SEVERAL HOMES.
 THE THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEVERE WEATHER ARE MOVING
 VERY SLOWLY TOWARDS THE WEST AND WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT
 HOUR AT LEAST.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO..GO TO A REINFORCED SHELTER
OR A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.u

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.