Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Melbourne, FL

July 20, 2000Lake County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2000, 7:30 PM EDT for Lake County, Florida. It was in force for 30 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
Jul 20, 2000, 7:30 PM EDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2000, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Lake County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:30 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 20, 7:30 PM EDTHail 0.75Leesburg, FL
Jul 20, 7:40 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 60 ETavares, FLStrong downburst winds blew down trees and damaged a river cruise boat near Tavares.

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 nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 136 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 12:00Z on 2000-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3636 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 12:00Z on 2000-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
3636 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
608 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
54 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.

000 
WFUS52 KMLB 202332
TORMLB
FLC069-210000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
730 PM EDT THU JUL 20 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL LAKE COUNTY
  ...IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 800 PM EDT

* AT 728 PM EDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE 
AT THE LAKE SQUARE MALL NORTH OF LEESBURG AND TREES DOWN ON TRAILERS 
IN THE AREA. DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A TORNADO MAY BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS 
STORM. THE THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEAST AND WILL EFFECT 
THE AREA NORTH OF LEESBURG TO LISBON. 
THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE PREVIOUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A STRONG BUILDING ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS
TO COVER YOUR HEAD AND BODY.

EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO
SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST UNFLOODED DITCH...
CULVERT...OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN A NEARBY TORNADO IN YOUR CAR.

$$

LAT...LON 2888 8194 2875 8190 2886 8162 2894 8174
54

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 5:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake49 min
Jul 20, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake32 min
Jul 20, 6:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBVolusia51 min
Jul 20, 7:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake67 min
Jul 20, 7:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes in 2000

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.