Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 55, NWS Tallahassee, FL

December 24, 2002Walton County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 24, 2002, 7:01 AM CST for Walton County, Florida. It was in force for 3 hr. 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, 7:01 AM CST (13:01 UTC)
Expired
Dec 24, 2002, 10:30 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Walton County, FL

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:00 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Dec 24, 5:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 77 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-12-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 132 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-12-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 471 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
132 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-145 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
463 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
471 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
585 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

581 
WFUS52 KTAE 241301
TORTLH
FLC131-241345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
700 AM CST TUE DEC 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN WALTON COUNTY IN FLORIDA
  THIS INCLUDES SANTA ROSA BEACH...

* UNTIL 745 AM CST

* AT 755 AM EST (655 AM CST) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER        
  RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SANTA   
  ROSA BEACH...OR ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FORT WALTON BEACH...   
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SANTA ROSA BEACH BY 710 AM CST...

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...ABANDON YOUR MOBILE HOME FOR
A REINFORCED SHELTER.

IF A TORNADO THREATENS YOUR LOCATION GO TO YOUR SAFE ROOM OR TORNADO
SHELTER. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SAFE ROOM OR TORNADO SHELTER...SEEK
SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM OF THE LOWEST LEVEL OF YOUR HOME.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS TORNADO...MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

LAT...LON 3031 8654 3016 8641 3050 8587 3068 8603

.END

5-MOLLERE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 24, 6:46 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEHolmes, Washington14 min
Dec 24, 7:41 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEWalton, Washington34 min
Dec 24, 7:56 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson34 min
Dec 24, 9:55 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEFranklin, Gulf, Liberty35 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.