Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 803

December 10, 199718 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 10, 1997, 8:00 AM EST for 18 counties in Florida. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 10, 1997, 8:00 AM EST (13:00 UTC)
Expired: Dec 10, 1997, 1:00 PM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Alachua County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Clay County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Lake County, FL, Levy County, FL, Marion County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Sumter County, FL, Union County, FL, Volusia County, FL

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
Dec 10, 8:18 AM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Duval	62 min

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 136 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: 1167 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 284 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 385 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.8
Supercell composite: 8.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 101246
MKC WW 101246
FLZ000-101800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 803
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
746 AM EST WED DEC 10 1997

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

   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 800 AM UNTIL
100 PM EST.

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 55 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH OF CROSS CITY FLORIDA TO 45 MILES NORTH
OF DAYTONA BEACH 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 802...

DISCUSSION...SHEAR PROFILES ON 12Z SOUNDINGS AT JAX AND TPA
CONTINUE FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.  LINE
THUNDERSTORMS NRN FL WILL GRADUALLY DEVELOP SEWD INTO NRN FL
PENISULA WITH SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY AVAILABLE.


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 CZUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...HALES

;293,0833 303,0812 290,0803 281,0824;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 9, 11:30 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more	6 hr
Dec 10, 3:00 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baker, Columbia, Duval, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson and 6 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.