Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Miami, FL

April 12, 1997Collier County, Monroe County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 12, 1997, 6:14 AM EDT for Collier County, Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 61 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
Apr 12, 1997, 6:14 AM EDT (10:14 UTC)
Expired
Apr 12, 1997, 7:15 AM EDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Collier County, FL, Monroe County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:18 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

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 00:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 86 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 00:00Z on 1997-04-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 218 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-04-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
218 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
956 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

787 
WFUS1 KMIA 121015 RRA
TORMIA
FLC087-021-121115-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
614 AM EDT SAT APR 12 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH FLORIDA
 
   ...NORTHWESTERN MAINLAND MONROE COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...SOUTHWESTERN COLLIER COUNTY
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
FOR EXTREME NORTHWEST PART OF MAINLAND MONROE AND SOUTHWEST
COLLIER COUNTY. AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM IS LOCATED ABOUT 15 MILES
WEST OF MARCO ISLAND AND HAS SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF POSSIBLE
TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT.
 
THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE PUBLIC AND
MARINE INTERESTS WILL BE ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST BETWEEN
NAPLES AND JUST SOUTH OF MARCO ISLAND AS WELL AS FOR A FEW
MILES INLAND.
 
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.
 
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DEVELOPING SEVERE STORMS.  HAILSTONES AND
UNUSUALLY LOW SWIRLING CLOUDS ARE OFTEN SEEN NEAR DEVELOPING
TORNADOES.  STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES OFTEN PRODUCE
A LOUD ROARING SOUND LIKE A TRAIN.  FREQUENT LIGHTNING OCCURS
NEAR THE MOST SEVERE PART OF THE THUNDERSTORM.
 
AT NIGHT OR DURING HEAVY RAIN...THE ONLY CLUE TO A TORNADOS
PRESENCE MAY BE ITS ROAR. IF A UNUSUALLY LOUD ROAR IS HEARD...
TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 12, 5:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier66 min
Apr 12, 7:53 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMiami-Dade67 min
Apr 12, 8:20 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMFLCollier115 min
Apr 12, 10:40 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMFLCollier110 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.