Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Miami, FL
NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at May 25, 1988, 9:04 AM EDT for Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 31 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 25, 1988, 9:04 AM EDT (13:04 UTC)
- Expired
- May 25, 1988, 9:35 AM EDT
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS Miami, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe 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, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 153 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3140 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -27 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 917 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 2.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMIA 251306 RRA
TORMIA
FLC025-087-251330-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
904 AM EDT WED MAY 25 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 935 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
...WESTERN DADE
IN SOUTH FLORIDA
...EASTERN MAINLAND MONROE
AT 900 AM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN EAST CENTRAL MAINLAND
MONROE COUNTY. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH.
IF YOUR ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO..THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER A
PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. DEADLY
LIGHTNING..HAIL..AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN THIS STORM.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY..AND YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
TO RELAYf 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, May 25, 8:42 AM EDT, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 830 AM EDT WED MAY 25 1988 NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED IN LARGE AREAS OF RAIN CONTINUE TO MOVE RAPIDLY ONSHORE THE SOUTHWEST PENINSULA. THE HEAVIEST THUNDER- STORMS WERE LOCATED IN THE SOUTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO AND ALONG A 10 MILE WIED LINE THAT EXTENDED FROM NORTHERN GLADES COUNTY THROUGH HENDRY AND COLLIER COUNTIES TO JUST OFFSHORE CAPE ROMANO. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS AND BOATERS IN THESE WATERS ARE ADVISED THAT THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANINED BY VERY HEAVY RAINS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...REDUCED VISIBILITIES...ROUGH SEAS... AND POSSIBLY HAIL AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 MILES EAN HOUR. ELSEWHERE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW ATTENDED BY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...CONTINUED FROM JUST OFFSHORE THE EAST COAST THROUGH OUT THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN BAHAMAS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Miami, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 9:38 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Collier, Monroe | 2 hr |
| May 25, 11:35 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Monroe | 2 hr |
| May 25, 11:50 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Collier, Monroe | 115 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
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.