Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 12

January 9, 199722 counties in Florida; 7 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 9, 1997, 4:00 AM EST for 22 counties in Florida; 7 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 9, 1997, 4:00 AM EST (09:00 UTC)
Expired: Jan 9, 1997, 10:00 AM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 29 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Washington County, FL, Brooks County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Echols County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 5 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:04 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.

Warnings issued inside it

1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 9, 9:30 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Alachua, Gilchrist	30 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 5 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 177 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 188 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.

444 
WWUS9 KMKC 090817
SEL2  
MKC WW 090817
FLZ000-GAZ000-091500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 12
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY MO
317 AM EST THU JAN 9 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF NORTHERN FLORIDA INCLUDING THE PANHANDLE              
   PARTS OF EXTREME SOUTHERN GEORGIA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING UNTIL 1000 AM EST.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM PANAMA CITY FLORIDA TO 35 MILES NORTH OF
GAINESVILLE FLORIDA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

B..OTHER WATCH INFORMATION.. THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 11.  WATCH NUMBER 11 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 400
AM EST.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 3/4
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 450.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24035.

D... LN STG/SVR TSTMS WILL CONT TO MOVE EWD ACRS FL PNHDL AHEAD OF
STG COLD FRONT.  E/W WARM FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY NWD TO NR GA/FL
BORDER.  AMS S OF WARM FRONT MOIST AND SUFLY UNSTBL TO SUPPORT
CONTD THREAT OF SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS GIVEN THE FVRBL SHEAR
PROFILES IN PLACE...PARTICULARLY VCNTY WARM FNT.  ADDITIONAL
STG/SVR TSTMS PSBLY DVLPG AHD OF LN OVR NERN GULF OF MEXICO AND
MOVING ONSHORE.

E...OTR TSTMS... THIS WATCH REPLACES..WW 11..

...HALES

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 8, 10:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf and 10 more	6 hr
Jan 9, 4:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Lee and 5 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997 Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997 Every tornado watch 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.