Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 116, NWS Melbourne, FL

August 21, 2001Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 2001, 4:50 PM EDT for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 55 min. 3 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
Aug 21, 2001, 4:50 PM EDT (20:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2001, 5:45 PM EDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Brevard County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 21 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:53 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
Aug 21, 4:55 PM EDTHail 1Titusville, FL
Aug 21, 4:55 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 ETitusville, FLThunderstorm winds blew down trees and wires.
Aug 21, 5:03 PM EDTHail 1Cocoa, FL

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

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 27 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 2001-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2741 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 2001-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -14 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
2741 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
657 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-6 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.

091 
WUUS52 KMLB 212051
SVRMLB
FLC009-212145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
450 PM EDT TUE AUG 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BREVARD COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 545 PM EDT.

* AT 447 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER TITUSVILLE...OR ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  TITUSVILLE...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE SOUTH ALONG THE SEA BREEZE TOWARD
PORT ST JOHN... COCOA AND ROCKLEDGE. OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING
INCLUDE VIERA... SUNTREE AND MELBOURNE.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MILES AN
HOUR...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. IF
THE STORM APPROACHES YOU...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.

$$

LAT...LON 2866 8073 2859 8093 2822 8082 2831 8054

52

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 Aug 21, 2:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
225 PM EDT TUE AUG 21 2001

CURRENTLY...SCATTERED STRONG LIGHTNING STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AS A
SURFACE BOUNDARY FROM LEESBURG TO DAYTONA BEACH WAS HELPING TO
INITIATE ACTIVITY. ADDITIONAL STRONG STORMS CAN BE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP SOUTH AND EASTWARD OVER THE REGION INTO EVENING.

TONIGHT/WED...CU FIELD NORTH OF THE AREA ALREADY SHOWING SIGNS OF
DRYING WITH SFC DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW 70S SOUTH TO GNV. FEEL POPS
WILL DIMINISH FAIRLY QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET WITH CESSATION OF SFC
HEATING. WILL TEMPER NOS BACK TO SLIGHT CHANCE OVER N HALF WITH 30
OVER SOUTH IN HIGHER MOISTURE. A WEAK FRONTAL TROUGH MOVES OVER N FL
WITH DRYING TREND BY SUNRISE OVER MOST OF THE AREA. SUBSIDENCE AS
WITH ADVANCING HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE SOUTHEAST IS MORE RAPIDLY
ADVERTISED BY ETA. AVN NOT AS QUICK TO DRY OUT AIRMASS...ESPECIALLY
OVER THE SOUTH DURING WED AND WITH THESE DISCREPANCIES NOTED WILL
KEEP POPS IN LOW SCT CATEGORY OVER THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES. GRADIENT
ONSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS BY AFTERNOON WITH DRY ADVECTION IN NE FLOW.
CHICKEN POPS AT BEST OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS.

THU/FRI...AIRMASS MOISTURE RECOVERY IS LIMITED THROUGH THE REMAINDER
OF THE WORK WEEK. WILL KEEP RAIN CHANCES LOWER UNTIL PWATS RISE WITH
RETURN OF SOUTHERLY WIND COMPONENT. MIXED SIGNALS WRT TO FALLING
HEIGHTS OFF THE FL EAST COAST MAY HELP POP NOS TO RISE TO HIGHER
CATEGORIES SHOULD TROPICAL WAVE EAST OF BAHAMAS SHOW CLOSER
INFLUENCE BY THIS WEEKEND.

EXTENDED...SUBTROPICAL RIDGE SUPPRESSED OVER THE BAHAMAS TO FL
STRAITS EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH LOWER HEIGHTS OVER THE CONTINENTAL SE.
FAVORABLE STEERING ENVIRONMENT FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORM
COVERAGE....ALTHOUGH DEEP MOISTURE REMAINS IN QUESTION.

MARINE...NO GRADIENT WIND SURGES SEEN IN IMMEDIATE FUTURE BEYOND
LOCAL SQUALLS IN VICINITY OF STORMS MOVING OFF SHORE THROUGH THIS
EVENING.

PRELIM...
DAB BB 072/089 072/089 072 3212
MCO BB 074/092 073/092 073 3212
MLB BB 075/089 074/089 075 3322 44

.MLB...NONE.

PUBLIC/MARINE...PENDERGRAST
AVIATION/FIRE WX...GITTINGER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:00 AM EDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147-
212000-

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
11 AM EDT TUE AUG 21 2001

...SCATTERED LIGHTNING STORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

AN UPPER LEVEL LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE EAST TOWARD THE FLORIDA
PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO AN
AREA OF DEEP MOISTURE AND AS THE INSTABILITY INCREASES SCATTERED
LIGHTNING STORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON.

STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MOST NUMEROUS ACROSS AREAS FROM
INTERSTATE FOUR SOUTH TO LAKE OKEECHOBEE. STORMS WILL MOVE TOWARD
THE EAST COAST DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES. A FEW
STRONG STORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH WINDS GUSTS UP TO 50
MPH...SMALL HAIL...FREQUENT TO EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES.

OCEAN CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE A GREATER THAN NORMAL
THREAT OF RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES. CONSULT BEACH PATROL OR
LIFEGUARD STATION FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...AND ALWAYS SWIM
WITHIN SIGHT OF A LIFEGUARD.

THE GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS AVAILABLE
AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/HWOFILES/HWOMAIN.HTML

PENDERGRAST

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 4:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake53 min
Aug 21, 6:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBIndian River, Saint Lucie59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.