Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Tallahassee, FL

April 23, 1995Walton County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 23, 1995, 12:21 PM CDT for Walton County, Florida. It was in force for 54 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 1995, 12:21 PM CDT (17:21 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 1995, 1:15 PM CDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Walton County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 181 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 1995-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 447 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 1995-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
447 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-103 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
205 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPNS 231720
TORPNS
FLC131-231815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
1221 PM CDT SUN APR 23 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENSACOLA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...CENTRAL WALTON COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 1220 PM CDT...PENSACOLA WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5
MILES TO THE EAST OF NICEVILLE MOVING TOWARDS THE EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 40
MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO SEEK INSIDE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
PROTECT YOUR HEAD AND EYES.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF
STURDY FURNITURE.  SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS
TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOTt AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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, Apr 23, 9:07 AM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
FLZ014-015-231900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE APALACHICOLA FL
1006 AM EDT SUN APR 23 1995

AT AT 845 AM EDT/745 AM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.
THE WATCH AREA INCLUDES GULF AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES AND THE ADJACENT
COASTAL WATERS.

AT 925 AM EDT...RADAR AT APALACHICOLA FLORIDA INDICATED STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE EXTREME WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE.  THE
STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT
GULF AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES LATER THIS MORNING.

RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLE HAIL FROM THE STORMS.  BE PREPARED TO TAKE
SHELTER AS THESE STORMS APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL BROADCAST STATION FOR
ANY FURTHER UPDATES.

NNNN
Special weather statement, Apr 23, 11:01 AM CDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before
FLZ014-015-231900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE APALACHICOLA FL
1200 PM EDT SUN APR 23 1995

THE TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM CDT/3 PM EDT THIS
AFTERNOON FOR THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.  THE
WATCH AREA INCLUDES GULF AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES AND THE ADJACENT
COASTAL WATERS.

AT 1128 AM EDT...RADAR AT APALACHICOLA FLORIDA INDICATED A VERY
STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SANTA ROSA COUNTY MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35
MILES AN HOUR.  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE
COUNTY.  OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN AN 85 MILE WIDE AREA EXTENDING
FROM SOUTHERN ALABAMA SOUTHWESTWARD INTO THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND
THE GULF.

RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLE HAIL FROM THE STORMS.  BE PREPARED TO TAKE
SHELTER AS THESE STORMS APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL BROADCAST STATION FOR
ANY FURTHER UPDATES.

NNNN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 11:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEWalton58 min
Apr 23, 11:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEWalton65 min
Apr 23, 12:48 PM CDTTornado WarningTAEHolmes27 min
Apr 23, 1:05 PM CDTTornado WarningTAEWalton55 min
Apr 23, 1:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEWashington54 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.