Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Melbourne, FL

December 27, 1997Osceola County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 27, 1997, 4:45 AM EST for Osceola County, Florida. It was in force for 55 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
Dec 27, 1997, 4:45 AM EST (09:45 UTC)
Expired
Dec 27, 1997, 5:40 AM EST
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Osceola County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Dec 27, 4:45 AM ESTTornado F1St Cloud, FLA weak F1 tornado moving northeast over Lake Tohopekaliga touched down in the Kissimmee Park community southwest of St. Cloud. The tornado destroyed 4 mobile homes and damaged 10 other structures.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Dec 27, 4:00 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 129 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1997-12-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1128 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1997-12-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 230 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1128 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
518 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
326 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMLB 270945 RRA
TORMLB
FLC097-271040-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
445 AM EST SAT DEC 27 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE FL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 540 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

   ...OSCEOLA COUNTY
 
AT 442 AM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO DEVELOPING
NEAR WEST LAKE TOHO. THE STORM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH ACROSS
WEST LAKE TOHO...THROUGH ST CLOUD...EAST LAKE TOHO...AND NARCOOSEE.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE SHELTER NOW!!
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER IF AVAILABL|E. 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.


CRISTALDI

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 27, 12:42 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningMLBOsceola3 hr
Dec 27, 3:38 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningMLBOsceola12 hr

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.