Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Melbourne, FL

March 9, 1998Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 9, 1998, 2:07 AM EST for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 63 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
Mar 9, 1998, 2:07 AM EST (07:07 UTC)
Expired
Mar 9, 1998, 3:10 AM EST
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Brevard County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 9, 2:20 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 60Cocoa Beach, FLThunderstorm winds blew down trees and damaged the roof of a high school building in Cocoa Beach.
Mar 9, 2:29 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 64Patrick Afb, FLThunderstorm winds blew down traffic signals and produced a gust to 74 mph at Patrick AFB.

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
Mar 9, 1:00 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1169 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 238 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
1169 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
873 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
238 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMLB 090707 RRA
TORMLB
FLC009-090810-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
207 AM EST MON MAR 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE FL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 310 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

   ...BREVARD COUNTY
 
AT 205 AM...DOPPLER RADAR IN MELBOURNE INDICATED A TORNADO 4 MILES
WEST OF DEER PARK MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THIS TORNADO WILL
AFFECT AREAS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH BREVARD COUNTY FROM VIERA AND
ROCKLEDGE TO PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE BETWEEN 230 AND 245 AM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE
HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
THE SAFEST PLACE IS AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STRONG BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 8, 11:06 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake, Volusia59 min
Mar 9, 12:36 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola64 min
Mar 9, 1:32 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBOsceola48 min
Mar 9, 3:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOkeechobee31 min
Mar 9, 3:40 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBSaint Lucie50 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.