Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Miami, FL

November 4, 1998Monroe County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1998, 4:39 PM EST for Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 46 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
Nov 4, 1998, 4:39 PM EST (21:39 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1998, 5:25 PM EST
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Monroe County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Nov 4, 4:40 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 50Marathon, FLA severe thunderstorm wind gust reported in Marathon but doing no known damage.
Nov 4, 5:15 PM ESTTornado F1Islamorada, FLA tornado moved ashore from the Straits of Florida into the middle Keys near mile marker 80. It travelled in a northeast direction crossing to the west side of U.S. 1. Damage occurred to the roof of a motel and to trees, fences and power lines.

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
Nov 4, 12:30 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC12 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 69 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 1998-11-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 715 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 1998-11-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 43 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
715 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
738 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

832 
WFUS1 KMIA 042140 RRA
TORMIA
FLC087-042225-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
439 PM EST WED NOV 4 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MONROE MIDDLE KEYS IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA

* UNTIL 525 PM EST

*   AT 435 PM...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO ABOUT 12 MILES
    SOUTHWEST OF LAYTON. THE MOVEMENT WILL BE TO THE NORTHEAST AT
    35 KT AND SHOULD REACH LAYTON BY 450 PM.

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 PROTECT YOUR HEAD. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING. DO
NOT TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR VEHICLE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 3:51 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLPalm Beach59 min
Nov 4, 5:24 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMonroe46 min
Nov 4, 6:08 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMonroe32 min
Nov 4, 6:41 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMonroe34 min
Nov 4, 6:53 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMiami-Dade47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.