Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Tallahassee, FL

October 26, 1997Bay County, Walton County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 26, 1997, 7:18 AM CST for Bay County, Walton County, Florida. It was in force for 12 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 26, 1997, 7:18 AM CST (13:18 UTC)
Expired
Oct 26, 1997, 7:30 AM CST
In force
12 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bay County, FL, Walton County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:19 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Oct 26, 6:45 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1593 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 154 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTLH 261316 RRA
TORTLH
FLC005-261330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
818 AM EST (718 AM CST) SUN OCT 26 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 AM EST (730 AM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN BAY COUNTY
 
AT 716 AM CST WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR THE
COMMUNITY OF SEMINOLE HILLS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER
STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFU6GE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.
1 follow-up statement
000 
TTAA00 KTLH 261325 RRA
TORTLH
FLC131-261330-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
818 AM EST (718 AM CST) SUN OCT 26 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 AM EST (730 AM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA

   ...SOUTHEASTERN WALTON COUNTY

AT 716 AM CST WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR THE
COMMUNITY OF SEMINOLE HILLS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER
STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFUGE XFROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 26, 5:33 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson2 hr
Oct 26, 7:30 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEWashington30 min
Oct 26, 8:05 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEWashington25 min
Oct 26, 8:33 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson62 min
Oct 26, 9:10 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEBay50 min
Oct 26, 9:20 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEHolmes40 min
Oct 26, 9:36 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson39 min
Oct 26, 10:05 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEBay40 min
Oct 26, 10:36 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson54 min
Oct 26, 10:48 AM CSTTornado WarningTAECalhoun42 min
Oct 26, 5:26 PM CSTTornado WarningTAEWakulla49 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.