Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Tallahassee, FL

January 15, 1997Washington County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Jan 15, 1997, 11:09 PM CST for Washington County, Florida. It was in force for 51 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jan 15, 1997, 11:09 PM CST (05:09 UTC)
Expired
Jan 16, 1997, 12:00 AM CST
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 15, 11:12 PM CSTTornado F1Hinsons Xrds, FL
Jan 15, 11:14 PM CSTTornado F1Vernon, FL

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jan 15, 11:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 133 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 00:00Z on 1997-01-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-01-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 258 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
753 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
258 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
408 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.

000 
TTAA00 KTLH 160511 RRA
TORTLH
FLC133-160600-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1209 AM EST (1109 PM CST) THU JAN 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 AM EST(MIDNIGHT CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
 
   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 1110 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
POSSIBLE TORNADO IN EXTREME EASTERN WALTON COUNTY MOVING INTO WESTERN
WASHINGTON COUNTY NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF HINSON CROSS ROAD. THIS STORM
WILL REACH VERNON AROUND 1120 PM CST...AND WILL MOVE SOUTH OF CHIPLEY
AROUND 1135 PM CST.
 
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 FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 15, 10:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEWalton67 min
Jan 15, 10:28 PM CSTTornado WarningTAEWalton47 min
Jan 15, 10:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEHolmes, Washington46 min
Jan 15, 11:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBay55 min
Jan 15, 11:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAECalhoun, Jackson62 min
Jan 16, 12:08 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEGadsden, Liberty67 min
Jan 16, 12:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAELeon57 min
Jan 16, 1:47 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEMadison, Taylor58 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.