Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Melbourne, FL

November 16, 2002Osceola County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 16, 2002, 2:48 PM EST for Osceola County, Florida. It was in force for 42 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 16, 2002, 2:48 PM EST (19:48 UTC)
Expired
Nov 16, 2002, 3:30 PM EST
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Osceola County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:49 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 nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 105 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 2002-11-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 280 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-11-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 31 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
280 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-256 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1147 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KMLB 161948
TORMLB
FLC097-162030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
245 PM EST SAT NOV 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 330 PM EST

* AT 240 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 21 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KENANSVILLE...OR ABOUT 17
  MILES WEST OF YEEHAW JUNCTION...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO TRACK ACROSS RURAL SOUTHERN OSCEOLA 
COUNTY...REACHING KENANSVILLE BY 315 PM EST

THE IMMEDIATE DANGER OF A TORNADO IS HIGH. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS
DEVELOPING TORNADO ARE URGED TO QUICKLY PREPARE FOR ITS APPROACH. 

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN A STRONG
BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
BATHROOM OR CLOSET. KEEP AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF NECESSARY...GET UNDER
A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. ABANDON YOUR MOBILE HOME OR RV FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...GET INTO AN
UNFLOODED DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS AND
ARMS. ABANDON YOUR VEHICLE IF THE TORNADO IS NEARBY.

THE TORNADO WILL LIKELY BE WRAPPED IN HEAVY RAIN MAKING IT DIFFICULT
TO SEE. BE SMART AND REACT NOW

IF YOU EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER...PLEASE RELAY YOUR REPORT TO LOCAL
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ASK THEM TO PASS IT ALONG TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE. OR YOU MAY CALL THE MELBOURNE WEATHER OFFICE DIRECTLY AT
THIS NUMBER 1 800 683 4468. YOUR TIMELY REPORT COULD SAVE SOMEONE
ELSES LIFE

LAT...LON 2760 8130 2756 8118 2776 8091 2797 8091

$$

28

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 16, 11:50 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB85 min
Nov 16, 3:32 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard58 min
Nov 16, 3:45 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB105 min
Nov 16, 3:45 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB105 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes in 2002

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.