Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 769

November 16, 200215 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 16, 2002, 10:30 AM EST for 15 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Nov 16, 2002, 10:30 AM EST (15:30 UTC)
Expired: Nov 16, 2002, 4:00 PM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Lee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:29 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.

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 16, 10:43 AM EST	Flash Flood Warning	TBW	Charlotte, DeSoto, Highlands, Lee, Sarasota	3 hr
Nov 16, 1:14 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFL	Collier	61 min
Nov 16, 1:21 PM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	DeSoto	24 min
Nov 16, 1:30 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	TBW	Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and 1 more	2 hr
Nov 16, 1:42 PM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Highlands	48 min
Nov 16, 2:19 PM EST	Tornado Warning	MFL	Palm Beach	41 min
Nov 16, 2:29 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Highlands, Polk	31 min
Nov 16, 2:32 PM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Highlands, Polk	28 min
Nov 16, 3:27 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	TBW	Charlotte, Lee	63 min

The nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 97 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 471 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 919 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 109 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 161528
SEL9  
SPC WW 161530
FLZ000-CWZ000-162100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 769
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1030 AM EST SAT NOV 16 2002

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

   SOUTH FLORIDA                            
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1030 AM UNTIL
400 PM EST.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF FORT MEYERS FLORIDA TO 70
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST 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...TROPICAL AIRMASS HAS SURGED ACROSS SRN FL AHEAD OF
DEEPENING TROUGH OVER GULF OF MEXICO.  SHEAR PROFILES BECOMING
INCREASINGLY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS DURING THE DAY
ACROSS SRN FL.  CURRENT STORMS W COAST FL WILL PROPAGATE EWD AND
LIKELY INTENSIFY WITH AFTERNOON HEATING.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22030.


...HALES

274,0802 250,0793 243,0814 270,0823

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 16, 3:10 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Brevard, Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands and 8 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.