Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Melbourne, FL

August 9, 1991Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Aug 9, 1991, 4:59 PM EDT for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 9, 1991, 4:59 PM EDT (20:59 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 1991, 5:30 PM EDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Brevard County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 180 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 1991-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3206 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1991-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 14 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
3206 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
629 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 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 KMLB 092101
TORMLB
FLC009-092130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
459 PM EDT FRI AUG 9 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...NORTH AND CENTRAL BREVARD COUNTY
 
 
 
AT 500 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO JUST WEST OF COCOA. IT
WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH AND IT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
COCOA AREA AND TO OVER MERRITT ISLAND BETWEEN 5 AND 530 PM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. 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 9, 1:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 39 minutes before
FLZ009-091915-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAYTONA BEACH FL
119 PM EDT FRI AUG 9 1991

...THIS STATEMENT IS FOR MARION COUNTY...

A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE SOUTHWEST PART OF MARION
COUNTY NEAR OCALA AND SUMMERFIELD.

THEY WERE MOVING EAST LESS THAN 10 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS TO 35 MPH...
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES AND HAIL.

DUE TO THE SLOW MOVEMENT BRIEF FLOO#DING COULD OCCUR IN AREAS THAT
USUALLY FLOOD DURING HEAVY DOWNPOURS.
Special weather statement, Aug 9, 1:44 PM EDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
FLZ017-011-016-012-009-091845-

SPECIAL EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA WEATHER UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
142 PM EDT FRI AUG 9 1991

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO LAKE COUNTY...

AT 140 PM THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING
WERE FROM JUST WEST OF WEIRSDALE TO MASCOTTE AND 30 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF CLERMONT. THESE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
SMALL HAIL. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT LESS THAN 10 MPH...AND
WILL MOVE ACROSS LAKE COUNTY DURING THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS. PERSONS IN
THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INDOORS TO AVOID LIGHTNING.

ELSEWHERE OVER EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WERE FROM ASTOR PARK TO BARBERVILLE...NEAR LAKE
KISSIMMEE...AND ALONG THE COAST FROM THE SPACE CENTER TO MELBOURNE
AND VERO BEACH. SOME OF THESE STORMS WERE PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN.
BOATERS AND OTHER MARINE INTERESTS FROM CAPE CANAVERAL TO VERO BEACH
SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE THUNDERSTORMS...AND HEAD FOR SAFE HARBOR
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

BETWEEN 2 AND 4 PM...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVER EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...SOME OF WHICH WILL
CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN AND STKRONG WINDS.

R.SMITH
Special weather statement, Aug 9, 4:16 PM EDT, 43 minutes before
FLZ012-092100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAYTONA BEACH FL
415 PM EDT FRI AUG 9 1991

THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING STRONG WINDS...VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL WERE OVER THE EAST PART OF
VOLUSIA COUNTY...STRETCHING FROM THE DAYTONA BEACH AREA SOUTH TO NEW
SMYRNA AND EDGEWATER.

A WIND GUST TO 46 MPH WAS RECORDED AT THE DAYTONA BEACH REGIONAL
AIRPORT DURING ONE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS AND ABOUT ONE INCH OF RAIN
FELL IN 15 MINUTES.

THE HEAVY RAINFALL WILL MAKE DRIVING DANGEROUS AND MOTORISTS SHOULD
USE CAUTION THIS AFTERNOON AS SOME ROADWAYS AND INTERSECTIONS WILL
BE FLOODED. SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH AND SHOULD MOVE OUT
OF THE AREA BY 500 PM.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 9, 2:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOrange65 min
Aug 9, 3:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOrange, Osceola29 min
Aug 9, 4:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard60 min
Aug 9, 4:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola45 min
Aug 9, 4:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBSaint Lucie69 min
Aug 9, 5:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOkeechobee61 min
Aug 9, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola45 min
Aug 9, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBMartin63 min
Aug 9, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBIndian River43 min
Aug 9, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.