Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Melbourne, FL

December 24, 2002Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 24, 2002, 3:38 PM EST for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 37 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
Dec 24, 2002, 3:38 PM EST (20:38 UTC)
Expired
Dec 24, 2002, 4:15 PM EST
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Brevard County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:39 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, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 42 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 2002-12-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1998 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2002-12-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 171 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1998 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
465 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
273 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.1
Supercell composite
11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KMLB 242038
TORMLB
FLC009-242115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
338 PM EST TUE DEC 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BREVARD COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 415 PM EST

* AT 334 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 11 MILES WEST OF TITUSVILLE...OR ABOUT 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  CHRISTMAS...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR TITUSVILLE...MIMS...7 MILES NORTH OF TITUSVILLE AIRPORT AT 355
     PM EST
  7 MILES SOUTH OF HAULOVER CANAL AT 410 PM EST
  NEAR KENNEDY SPACE CENTER...PLAYALINDA BEACH AT 415 PM EST

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 2863 8110 2846 8104 2856 8059 2877 8066

$$

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM EST TUESDAY EVENING 
FOR NORTH FLORIDA.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 24, 2:35 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB115 min
Dec 24, 3:52 PM ESTTornado WarningMLBVolusia38 min
Dec 24, 3:54 PM ESTTornado WarningMLBVolusia36 min
Dec 24, 4:30 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB3 hr
Dec 24, 4:30 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB3 hr
Dec 24, 4:30 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB60 min
Dec 24, 4:30 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB60 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.