Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 20, NWS Tallahassee, FL
NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 16, 1996, 8:19 PM CST for Walton County, Florida. It was in force for 26 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 16, 1996, 8:19 PM CST (02:19 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 16, 1996, 8:45 PM CST
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tallahassee, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Walton County, FL
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:22 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 947 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 146 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 235 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
447 WFUS1 KTLH 170220 RRA TORTLH FLC131-170245- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 919 PM EST (819 PM CST) MON DEC 16 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM EST (845 PM CST) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA ...WALTON COUNTY AT 817 PM CST...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DE FUNIAK SPRINGS. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. 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.
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.
NWS Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Dec 16, 7:38 PM CST, 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 7:38 PM CST, 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 830 PM EST MON DEC 16 1996 MDLS CONSISTENT IN DVLPG MONSTROUS MID/UPR CLOSED LO CNTRD OVR NRN PLAINS/UPR MS VLY AND COVERING MOST OF CONUS THRU END OF PD...WITH SERN STATES REMAINING IN SW FLO ALOFT ON LEADING EDGE OF TROF. HOWEVER...THE SIMILARITIES END THERE. ETA AND NGM ARE VASTLY DIFFERENT IN HANDLING MOVEMENT OF SFC TROF AND PRECIP ACRS FCST AREA AS S/WV OVR LA ATTM LIFTS NE AND WEAKENS THRU NXT 18 TO 24 HRS. NGM RATHER UNIMPRESSIVE WITH PRECIP FIELDS DURG NXT 24 HRS...AND FWC REFLECTS THIS WITH 20 TO 40 PCT POPS. MEANWHILE...WET ETA GIVES US OVER AN INCH OF PRECIP AT TLH BY 00Z WED. SINCE FAN GUID HAS MUCH HIER POPS...NGM SEEMS TO BE ODD MAN OUT. ALTHO 12HR MDL SOLUTIONS DIFFER LITTLE...QUIK COMPARISON SHOWS BEST AGREEMENT BETW SFC FEATURES/QPF WITH ETA MDL... THUS WILL LEAN TOWARD ETA. THAT BEING THE CASE...FEEL THAT POPS NEED TO BE CHANGED RADICALLY IN NW FL ZONES. TIMING OF PRECIP MAY BE BEST IN TLH 12Z MM5 MDL RUN...WHICH HAS PRECIP ARRIVING TLH AREA ARND 09Z TUE. WITH THAT IN MIND...FOR NW FL...WOULD FAVOR INTRODUCING AT LEAST 40 PCT POP FOR AFTER MIDNITE TONITE AND 50/60 PCT POP FOR TUE. EXPC MOST OF PRECIP TO TAPER OFF AND LIFT NNE OF FCST AREA BY MIDDAY TUE AS S/WV WEAKENS AND LIFTS NEWD...ALTHO LINGERING WEAK VORT LOBE MAY BE ENUF TO SUPPORT WIDELY SCTD SHRA TUE AFTN. MEANWHILE...STILL DEALING WITH SVR TSTM WATCH OVR FL PNHNDL/SE AL. LATEST VAD WIND PROFILE OFF KEVX RADAR SHOWS SR HELICITIES IN 300 TO 450 RANGE. LUCKILY...INSTABILITY APPEARS TO BE ON THE LOW SIDE AND CONFINED TO A NARROW BAND IN WARM SECTOR MOVG NWD FM GULFMEX ACRS PNHNDL INTO S AL...TO W OF PAM/DHN. TLH 00Z RAOB SHOWS LI OF PLUS 9. WILL KEEP AN EYE ON TORNADIC POTENTIAL. MOORE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 7:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Walton | 64 min |
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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.