Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 1

January 2, 2002Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 2, 2002, 2:00 PM EST for Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 2, 2002, 2:00 PM EST (19:00 UTC)
Expired
Jan 2, 2002, 7:00 PM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL

Warnings issued inside it

1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 2:31 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMonroe29 min

The nearest sounding before it

Key West, FL (KEYW), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 83 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, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-01-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 312 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, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 158 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
312 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
785 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
333 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 021845
SEL1  
SPC WW 021840
FLZ000-CWZ000-030000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 1
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
140 PM EST WED JAN 2 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EXTREME SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE KEYS                           
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 200 PM UNTIL
700 PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA TO 10
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MIAMI FLORIDA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...BROKEN LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO APPROACH FAR
SOUTH FL.  SEVERAL SMALL SUPERCELLS AND/OR BOW ECHOES ARE EMBEDDED
WITHIN THE LINE.  STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO TRACK EASTWARD ACROSS
REGION FOR NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WITH THE THREAT OF ISOLATED
DAMAGING WINDS OR BRIEF TORNADOES.  DESPITE RATHER WEAK
INSTABILITY...BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS AND NEARLY SATURATED SURFACE
CONDITIONS WILL AID IN TORNADO THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.

...HART

255,0793 242,0805 242,0820 255,0804

WWUS20 KWNS 021845
SEL1  
SPC WW 021840
FLZ000-CWZ000-030000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 1
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
140 PM EST WED JAN 2 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EXTREME SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE KEYS                           
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 200 PM UNTIL
700 PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA TO 10
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MIAMI FLORIDA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...BROKEN LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO APPROACH FAR
SOUTH FL.  SEVERAL SMALL SUPERCELLS AND/OR BOW ECHOES ARE EMBEDDED
WITHIN THE LINE.  STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO TRACK EASTWARD ACROSS
REGION FOR NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WITH THE THREAT OF ISOLATED
DAMAGING WINDS OR BRIEF TORNADOES.  DESPITE RATHER WEAK
INSTABILITY...BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS AND NEARLY SATURATED SURFACE
CONDITIONS WILL AID IN TORNADO THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.

...HART

255,0793 242,0805 242,0820 255,0804

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002Every tornado watch 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.