Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 791

November 12, 199716 counties in Florida; Decatur County, Grady County, Thomas County, Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 12, 1997, 3:15 PM CST for 16 counties in Florida; Decatur County, Grady County, Thomas County, Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 12, 1997, 3:15 PM CST (21:15 UTC)
Expired
Nov 12, 1997, 9:00 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Decatur County, GA, Grady County, GA, Thomas County, GA

The nearest sounding before it

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 48 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-11-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-11-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 262 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
782 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
262 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
280 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

989 
WWUS9 KMKC 122043
SEL1  
MKC WW 122043
FLZ000-130300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 791
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
243 PM CST WED NOV 12 1997

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

   FLORIDA PANHANDLE                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 315 PM UNTIL
900 PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF PENSACOLA FLORIDA
TO 30 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF TALAHASSEE 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.


DISCUSSION...WARM FRONT IS BEGINNING TO APPROACH THE FLORIDA COAST.
PRESSURE FALLS INLAND SUGEST THAT BOUNDARY WILL MOVE ONSHORE DURING
THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ALTHOUGH AIR MASS IS ONLY MARGINALLY
UNSTABLE...SHEAR PROFILES ARE CONDUCIVE FOR SMALL SUPERCELLS
PRODUCING ISOLATED TORNADOES.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...VESCIO

310,0872 305,0835 293,0835 294,0872

Nearby

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