Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Tallahassee, FL

September 10, 1988Okaloosa County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Sep 10, 1988, 11:27 AM CDT for Okaloosa County, Florida. It was in force for 63 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 10, 1988, 11:27 AM CDT (16:27 UTC)
Expired
Sep 10, 1988, 12:30 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Okaloosa 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

Apalachicola Mun, FL (KAQQ), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 185 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, Apalachicola Mun, FL at 12:00Z on 1988-09-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1373 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, Apalachicola Mun, FL at 12:00Z on 1988-09-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 75 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
1373 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
660 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPNS 101629
TORPNS
FLC091-101730-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
1127 AM CDT SAT SEP 10 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENSACOLA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
          ...OKALOOSA
 
AT 1120 AM CDT THE WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN A
LARGE THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF FORT WALTON BEACH FLORIDA.
 
THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHWARD AT 35 MPH.
 
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.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 10, 1:30 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTAESanta Rosa6 hr
Sep 10, 10:06 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTAEOkaloosa, Santa Rosa2 hr
Sep 10, 11:39 AM CDTTornado WarningTAEWalton66 min
Sep 10, 12:41 PM CDTTornado WarningTAEOkaloosa, Walton64 min
Sep 10, 3:25 PM CDTTornado WarningTAEWalton65 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.