Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 808

December 27, 199712 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 27, 1997, 9:30 AM EST for 12 counties in Florida. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 27, 1997, 9:30 AM EST (14:30 UTC)
Expired
Dec 27, 1997, 4:00 PM EST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Broward County, FL, Collier County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:29 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 90 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-12-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 850 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-12-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 116 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
850 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
678 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
5.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

125 
WWUS9 KMKC 271353
SEL8  
MKC WW 271353
FLZ000-272100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 808
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
853 AM EST SAT DEC 27 1997

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

   SOUTH FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 930 AM UNTIL 400
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 75 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 85 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI FLORIDA TO 55 MILES
EAST OF VERO 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 807.  WATCH NUMBER 807 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 930 AM
EST.

DISCUSSION...TROPICAL AIRMASS S FL AHEAD OF PRE FRONTAL LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WILL SUPPORT ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS/SUPERCELLS.  WIND PROFILES FORECASTED TO BE FAVORABLE
FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WITH LOW LEVEL JET UP TO 60
KTS WITH APPROACHING MID LEVEL JET TO 90KT ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG
SHORT WAVE TROF TRACKING ACROSS AL/GA DURING AFTERNOON.


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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...HALES

260,0822 281,0802 265,0783 244,0803

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 27, 4:00 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay and 31 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.