Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 32, NWS Miami, FL

November 4, 1998Monroe County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1998, 5:24 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, 5:24 PM EST (22:24 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1998, 6:10 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, 5:45 PM ESTTornado F0Rock Harbor, FLA tornado touched down just west of U.S. 1 near mile marker 98. Damage occurred to the roof of a house and to foliage.
Nov 4, 5:55 PM ESTTornado F2Key Largo, FLA multivortex tornado touched down just west of U.S. 1 near mile marker 100. The tornado moved north northeast at 30 mph passing across ten housing subdivision, mostly mobile home parks. It damaged about 600 structures, tore down utility lines, damaged vesse

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, 10.4 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°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.

178 
WFUS1 KMIA 042225 RRA
TORMIA
FLC087-042310-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 610 PM EST

* AT 520 PM EST MIAMI DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  WITH STRONG INDICATIONS OF A TORNADO ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTH OF LOWER
  MATECUMBE KEY AND ISLAMORADA MOVING NORTHEAST AROUND 30 KNOTS.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  ON THIS PATH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO WILL
  AFFECT ISLAMORADA BY 530 PM EST AND TAVERNIER BY 540 PM EST.

  AT 515 PM THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR LAYTON.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK REFUGE IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR
LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.





&

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, 4:39 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.