Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Mobile, AL

July 31, 1996Okaloosa County, Florida

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 1996, 11:27 AM CDT for Okaloosa County, Florida. It was in force for 48 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
Jul 31, 1996, 11:27 AM CDT (16:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 1996, 12:15 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Okaloosa County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 31, 11:30 AM CDTTornado F0Ft Walton Beach, FL

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.

The nearest sounding before it

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 22 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1996-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1297 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1996-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
1297 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
971 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
16 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 KMOB 311628
TORMOB
FLC091-FLZ506-311715-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1127 AM CDT WED JUL 31 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...OKALOOSA COUNTY
 
  AND FOR THE COASTAL WATERS OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA FROM  .....
 
   ...NAVARRE  TO  DESTIN
 
AT 1125 AM CDT...PUBLIC REPORTS INDICATED A WATERSPOUT IN THE SANTA ROSA
SOUND MOVING NORTH AT 10 KNOTS AND WAS JUST WEST OF FORT WALTON BEACH
WHICH MAY MOVE INLAND AND PRODUCE TORNADIC LIKE DAMAGE.
 
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.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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.