Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 254, NWS Mobile, AL

October 26, 1997Okaloosa County, Florida

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 26, 1997, 10:36 AM CST for Okaloosa County, Florida. It was in force for 54 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
Oct 26, 1997, 10:36 AM CST (16:36 UTC)
Expired
Oct 26, 1997, 11:30 AM CST
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Okaloosa County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:39 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
Oct 26, 11:00 AM CSTThunderstorm Wind 60Baker, FLSeveral trees and power lines were blown down around the Baker community.

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
Oct 26, 6:45 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 221 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1593 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 154 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 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 KMOB 261638 RRA
SVRMOB
FLC091-261745-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1036 AM CST SUN OCT 26 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...OKALOOSA COUNTY
 
AT 1033 AM CST MOBILE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
INTO THE NORTHWEST SECTIONS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY. THIS LINE WILL SWEEP
EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH ACROSS THE COUNTY THROUGH 1130 AM. ANOTHER
POTENTIALLY SEVERE STORM WILL MOVE FROM THE GULF INTO CHOCTAWHATCHEE
BAY.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 26, 9:51 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia, Santa Rosa69 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.