Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Melbourne, FL

March 14, 1999Volusia County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 14, 1999, 1:26 PM EST for Volusia County, Florida. It was in force for 34 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 14, 1999, 1:26 PM EST (18:26 UTC)
Expired: Mar 14, 1999, 2:00 PM EST
In force: 34 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 18:27 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Mar 14, 1:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 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: 55 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 206 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 244 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS01 KMLB 141827 RRA
TORMLB
FLC127-141900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
126 PM EST SUN MAR 14 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
     SOUTHERN VOLUSIA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 200 PM EST

* AT 125... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR LAKE MONROE.
  MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  OSTEEN BY 140 PM
  SOUTH OF EDGEWATER BY 200 PM


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.

BRAGAW

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Mar 14, 10:15 AM EST, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 10:15 AM EST, 3 hours 11 minutes before

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
1015 AM EST SUN MAR 14 1999

SQUALL LINE MOVING OUT OF BIG BEND AREA AND CLOSING IN ON TAMPA.
CURRENT MOTION SHOULD BRING IT INTO NRN CWA AROUND NOON.  LIGHTNING
ACTIVITY HAS DECREASED QUITE A BIT SINCE 11Z THIS MORNING...BUT
PRESENT THINKING IS THE LINE WILL FLARE UP AGAIN AS IT MOVES INTO A
VERY FAVORABLE HELICITY ENVIRONMENT (REF 12Z KTBW SOUNDING).

MODIFIED KTBW SOUNDING FOR WORST CASE SCENARIO (80/70) PRODUCES CAPE
ON THE ORDER 2000-2500 J/KG...POSSIBLE OVER SRN CWA AS CLOUD COVER
IS NOT AS EXTENSIVE THERE...WILL NEED TO KEEP CLOSE EYE ON STORM
ENVIRONMENT SOUTH OF CAPE.

TEMPS TOO HIGH IN NRN CWA...EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER THERE SHOULD
KEEP MAXS IN THE LOW TO MID 70S BEFORE THE LINE PASSES.  IN THE
SOUTH...TEMPS ALREADY APPROACHING 80...MAY NEED TO BUMP THEIR TEMPS
UP A CAT.  WONT BOTHER ADJUSTING POPS.

.MLB...SCA FLAGLER BCH-JUPITER INLET TODAY.

BRAGAW

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.