Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Mobile, AL

July 5, 1997Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, Florida

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 1997, 4:56 AM CDT for Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, Florida. It was in force for 49 min. 2 reports 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 5, 1997, 4:56 AM CDT (09:56 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 1997, 5:45 AM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Escambia County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:59 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 5, 5:00 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Pensacola Beach, FLSeveral trees were blown down on Pensacola Beach.
Jul 5, 5:00 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Gulf Breeze, FLSeveral trees were blown down in Gulf Breeze.

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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 246 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1997-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3675 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1997-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -23 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
3675 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1283 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
10 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.

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 051040
TORMOB
FLC033-091-051045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
456 AM CDT SAT JUL 5 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA

   ...SOUTHERN ESCAMBIA COUNTY...SOUTHERN SANTA ROSA COUNTY

AT 455 AM CDT...MOBILE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE
TORNADO OVER THE BARRIER ISLANDS OF ESCAMIBA AND SANTA ROSA COUNTIES IN
NORTHWEST FLORIDA. THIS TORNADO WILL MOVE LITTLE AND MOSTLY LIKELY
AFFECT THE AREAS NEAR GULF BREEZE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 70 MPH ARE ALSO LIKELY NEAR THIS AREA.
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT...SEEK SHELTER IN THE
INNERMOST PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET TO
A BASEMENT IF ONE IS AVAILABLE.  AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR
BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS...BLANKETS...OR PILLOWS.



&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 5:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBOkaloosa51 min
Jul 5, 10:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBSanta Rosa53 min
Jul 5, 11:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBOkaloosa50 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.