Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Miami, FL

May 4, 1997Miami-Dade County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 4, 1997, 3:59 PM EDT for Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was in force for 46 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
May 4, 1997, 3:59 PM EDT (19:59 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 1997, 4:45 PM EDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Miami-Dade County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 9 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:01 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
May 4, 4:20 PM EDTTornado F09300 Fountain Blue, 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

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 31 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1620 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 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
1620 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
689 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

785 
WUUS1 KMIA 042001 RRA
SVRMIA
FLC025-042045-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
359 PM EDT SUN MAY 4 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN DADE COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
AT 355 PM MIAMI DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM VERY NEAR
THE GOLDEN GLADES INTERCHANGE. THE STORM IS MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MPH AND
WILL AFFECT NORTH MIAMI BEACH AND NORTH MIAMI AS WELL AS THE ADJACENT
BISCAYNE BAY WATERS THROUGH 445 PM.
 
DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. SEEK
SHELTER IN A STRONG BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. DO NOT USE
TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.
 
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED...TAKE SHELTER...THEN REPORT THE
SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 4:21 PM EDTTornado WarningMFLMiami-Dade54 min
May 4, 6:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier, Miami-Dade41 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.