Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Miami, FL

July 3, 1997Collier County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1997, 5:10 PM EDT for Collier County, Florida. It was in force for 50 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 3, 1997, 5:10 PM EDT (21:10 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1997, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Collier County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:09 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
Jul 3, 5:25 PM EDTHail 1.75North Naples, FLgolf ball size hail observed by corkscrew fire dept near everglades and immokalee rd.

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 (KMIA), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 113 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 1997-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2389 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 1997-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 4 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
2389 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
650 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 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.

681 
WFUS1 KMIA 032111 RRA
TORMIA
FLC021-032200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
510 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...NORTHERN COLLIER COUNTY
 
AT 505 PM...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS STILL DRIFTING WEST ALONG STATE
ROAD 846. REPORTS FROM COLLIER COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE INDICATE FUNNEL
CLOUDS HAVE DEVELOPED AND MAY POSSIBLY TOUCH DOWN AS TORNADOES. LARGE
HAIL AND WINDS ABOVE 58 MPH ARE VERY POSSIBLE IN THIS THUNDERSTORM.
 
PERSONS ALONG STATE ROAD 846 BETWEEN IMMOKALEE AND CORKSCREW SWAMP
SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
 
 
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 PROTECT YOUR HEAD. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING. DO
NOT TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR VECHICLE.
 
 
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 1:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMiami-Dade68 min
Jul 3, 4:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier90 min
Jul 3, 5:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier77 min
Jul 3, 6:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMiami-Dade67 min
Jul 3, 7:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMiami-Dade60 min
Jul 3, 7:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLHendry72 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.