Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 762

October 24, 199720 counties in Florida; Charlton County, Echols County, Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 24, 1997, 2:15 PM EDT for 20 counties in Florida; Charlton County, Echols County, Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Oct 24, 1997, 2:15 PM EDT (18:15 UTC)
Expired: Oct 24, 1997, 8:00 PM EDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 22 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Levy County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Charlton County, GA, Echols County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:17 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 24, 2:38 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	TAE	Gadsden, Leon	47 min
Oct 24, 3:13 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	TAE	Leon, Wakulla	47 min
Oct 24, 6:50 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	TBW	Levy	40 min
Oct 24, 7:30 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	TBW	Levy	45 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 73 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -294 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 628 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 433 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 489 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.

242 
WWUS9 KMKC 241807 COR
SEL2  
MKC WW 241807 COR
FLZ000-250000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 762
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
207 PM EDT FRI OCT 24 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

NORTHERN FLORIDA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 215 PM UNTIL 800
PM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTHEAST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO
VALDOSTA GEORGIA.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 760.  WATCH NUMBER 760 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 215 PM
EDT.  CONTINUE...WW 761...

DISCUSSION...POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL
CONTINUE IN VICINITY OF N/S WARM FRONT MOVING SLOWLY E ACROSS WATCH
REGION.  DEWPOINTS RISE INTO THE LOW 70S NEAR FRONT...AND VERTICAL
SHEAR WILL REMAIN STRONG...WITH VEERING 50 KT FLOW IN THE LOW TO
MID LEVELS.
  
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.

...CORFIDI

290,0855 304,0845 304,0814 290,0824

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 24, 10:15 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf and 7 more	5 hr
Oct 24, 1:30 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Jackson	7 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.