Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Mobile, AL

October 4, 1995Okaloosa County, Florida

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 4, 1995, 11:37 AM CDT for Okaloosa County, Florida. It was in force for 68 min. 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
Oct 4, 1995, 11:37 AM CDT (16:37 UTC)
Expired
Oct 4, 1995, 12:45 PM CDT
In force
68 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Okaloosa County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:41 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 4, 12:30 PM CDTTornado F2Crestview, FLA tornado touched down near Interstate 10 east of Crestview. The tornado then moved northwest across Okaloosa Lane and then across U.S. Highway 90 before dissipating near Highway 85. The tornado destroyed two homes and a church and severely damaged the late

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

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 221 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1995-10-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1919 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1995-10-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 217 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1919 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
488 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
217 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
215 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
9.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTLH 041638
TORMOB
FLC091-041745-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
ISSUED BY TALLAHASSEE FL
1137 AM CDT WED OCT 4 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...OKALOOSA COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS ALONG THE FLORIDA GULF COAST
 
AT 1132 AM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE
NORTHERN GULF...ABOUT 5 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF DESTIN. THESE STORMS
HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE TORNADOES AS THEY MOVE ACROSS OKALOOSA
COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHWEST AT 45 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO
THE VALPARAISO AREA AROUND 1145 AM AND NEAR CRESTVIEW AT NOON.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER
STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 4, 9:52 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBOkaloosa, Santa Rosa53 min
Oct 4, 10:40 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBSanta Rosa65 min
Oct 4, 11:00 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBEscambia60 min
Oct 4, 5:33 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBOkaloosa42 min
Oct 4, 6:08 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBOkaloosa, Santa Rosa67 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.