Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Melbourne, FL

January 3, 1999Volusia County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 3, 1999, 12:29 AM EST for Volusia County, Florida. It was in force for 61 min. 1 report 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 3, 1999, 12:29 AM EST (05:29 UTC)
Expired: Jan 3, 1999, 1:30 AM EST
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Melbourne, FL
Area: Whole counties

County Volusia County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:30 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jan 3, 12:35 AM EST	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Deltona, FL	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines in Deltona.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jan 2, 9:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 00:00Z, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 91 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1021 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 86 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.

999 
WUUS01 KMLB 030530 RRA
SVRMLB
FLC127-030630-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
1229 AM EST SUN JAN 3 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
     VOLUSIA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 130 AM EST

* AT 1230 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM PIERSON TO MOUNT PLYMOUTH IN LAKE
  COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MPH.

*  THE LINE OF STORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AS IT MOVES
   ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN VOLUSIA COUNTY THROUGH 130 AM.


THESE ARE DANGEROUS STORMS. BE PREPARED FOR DAMAGING WIND IN
EXCESS OF 58 MPH...LARGE HAIL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE
OR IN MOBILE HOMES SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING AND STAY
AWAY FROM WINDOWS.


CRISTALDI

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jan 2, 8:40 PM EST, 3 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 8:40 PM EST, 3 hours 49 minutes before

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
840 PM EST SAT JAN 2 1999

CURRENTLY...KMLB 88D FAIRLY QUIET ATTM...HOWEVER AIR MASS SHOWS
INCREASINGLY FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILE DEVELOPING OVER NORTH/CENTRAL
FLORIDA THROUGH ABOUT 06Z. SFC-850MB WINDS PROGGED TO MAX OUT NEAR
45-50KT ACROSS NORTHERN HALF OF CWA...WHILE MODIFIED WINDS ON THE 00Z
TBW RAOB YIELDS BEST STORM-REL HELICITIES NEAR 300M2/S2. CURRENT
ACTIVITY OVER GULF STREAM INDICATES THAT ENOUGH INSTABILITY WILL
LIKELY REMAINS OVER THE PENINSULA TO SUSTAIN STORMS ALONG PRE-FRONTAL
SQUALL LINE THROUGH EARLY PART OF OVERNIGHT PERIOD...AS SOUTHERN
STREAM SHORT WAVE CLEARLY EVIDENT ON WATERVAPOR IMAGERY OVER CENTRAL
GOMEX...PUSHES ENE ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA NEXT 6 HOURS.

NEW WW (TOR) WILL COVER NORTHERN 2/3 OF WARNING AREA PER SPC/MIA
COORD. WATCH RELATED UPDATES TO SHORT TERM/ZONE FORECASTS AND
HAZARDOUS WX OUTLOOK WILL FOLLOW.

CRISTALDI

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 2, 7:49 PM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-030500-

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
749 PM EST SAT JAN 2 1999

...SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY...

A POWERFUL WINTER STORM OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES WILL LIFT
NORTHEAST INTO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES TONIGHT. AS IT DOES...A COLD
FRONT WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST THROUGH NORTH FLORIDA AND THE EASTERN GULF
OF MEXICO. THE FRONT WILL THEN PUSH THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA SUNDAY
MORNING.

AHEAD OF THE FRONT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...CURRENTLY
STRETCHING FROM TALLAHASSEE INTO THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO...WILL
MOVE INTO CENTRAL FLORIDA LATE TONIGHT. THE STORMS WILL AFFECT LAKE
AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES BETWEEN 10 PM AND MIDNIGHT...AND THEN ORANGE...
OSCEOLA...SEMINOLE...OSCEOLA...AND BREVARD COUNTIES BETWEEN MIDNIGHT
AND 2 AM SUNDAY. THE LINE IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN BEFORE IMPACTING
OKEECHOBEE...ST. LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES TOWARDS DAWN.

STRONG LOW-LEVEL WINDS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA INDICATE A THREAT FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AS THE SQUALL LINE REACHES THE REGION TONIGHT...
ESPECIALLY FROM ORLANDO AND CAPE CANAVERAL NORTHWARD. DAMAGING WIND
GUSTS OVER 55 MPH...HAIL...EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO...MAY OCCUR
WITH THE SOME OF THE STORMS.

RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE SHOULD LISTEN FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES OR WARNINGS TONIGHT. IF YOU OWN A
WEATHER RADIO...MAKE SURE THE TONE ALERT FEATURE IS TURNED ON BEFORE
RETIRING FOR THE NIGHT. SPOTTERS ARE REMINDED THAT ACTIVATION MAY BE
NEEDED TONIGHT.

CRISTALDI

Special weather statement, Jan 2, 9:50 PM EST, 2 hours 39 minutes before

AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-030800-

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
950 PM EST SAT JAN 2 1999

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA
UNTIL 3AM EST SUNDAY MORNING...

A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS
THE CENTRAL FLORIDA PENINSULA LATE TONIGHT AND INTO THE EARLY
MORNING HOURS OF SUNDAY.  THE ATMOSPHERE OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA IS
FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. IN ADDITION TO
THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH AND LARGE HAIL...
SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES.  THE APPROACHING
SYSTEM HAS ALREADY PRODUCED SEVERAL TORNADOES...WITH CONFIRMED
DAMAGE...OVER THE PANHANDLE EARLIER TODAY.

THE STORMS WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT LAKE COUNTY BY 11 PM AND
SPREAD EASTWARD INTO VOLUSIA...ORANGE...SEMINOLE...AND OSCEOLA
COUNTIES AROUND MIDNIGHT...AND THEN AFTERWARDS MOVE INTO BREVARD...
INDIAN RIVER...AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES.  ALTHOUGH ST LUCIE AND
MARTIN COUNTIES ARE NOT IN THE WATCH AREA...THEY ARE LOCATED VERY
CLOSE TO IT AND WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PASSING SQUALL LINE OVER
NIGHT. THESE COUNTIES SHOULD PREPARE FOR ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER.

RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE SHOULD LISTEN FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS LATE TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. DO
NOT GO TO BED UNINFORMED.  PREPARE A PERSONAL ACTION PLAN...NOW...
IN CASE A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA.  IF YOU OWN A WEATHER
RADIO...MAKE SURE THE TONE ALERT FEATURE IS TURNED ON.  THIS IS ONE
WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE A WARNING AFTER RETIRING
FOR THE NIGHT.  IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME OR RV PARK...DETERMINE
WHERE THE CLOSEST SAFE SHELTER IS LOCATED AND HOW YOU WILL RECEIVE A
WARNING IF ONE IS ISSUED FOR YOUR LOCATION. IF NECESSARY...DESIGNATE
A PARK WATCHMAN. IF YOU ARE A VISITOR...BE SURE THAT YOU KNOW
WHICH CENTRAL FLORIDA COUNTY YOU ARE IN.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO RELAY ANY AND ALL SEVERE WEATHER
REPORTS VIA PHONE OR HAM RADIO ACCORDINGLY.  THE SQUALL LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WITH INDIVIDUAL
STORMS MOVING QUICKLY TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST AROUND 35 MPH.

SHARP

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 2, 11:28 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Lake	62 min
Jan 3, 12:10 AM EST	Tornado Warning	MLB	Orange, Seminole	30 min
Jan 3, 12:33 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Orange, Osceola, Seminole	62 min
Jan 3, 1:03 AM EST	Tornado Warning	MLB	Osceola	32 min
Jan 3, 1:10 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Brevard	60 min
Jan 3, 1:31 AM EST	Tornado Warning	MLB	Brevard	49 min
Jan 3, 1:36 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Okeechobee	64 min
Jan 3, 2:29 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Indian River, Saint Lucie	31 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1999 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1999

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.