Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

November 16, 2002Highlands County, Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 16, 2002, 2:32 PM EST for Highlands County, Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 28 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, 2:32 PM EST (19:32 UTC)
Expired
Nov 16, 2002, 3:00 PM EST
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Highlands County, FL, Polk County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:33 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
Nov 16, 10:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 107 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-11-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 460 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2002-11-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 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
460 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
479 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

234 
WFUS52 KTBW 161932
TORTBW
FLC055-105-162000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
232 PM EST SAT NOV 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN POLK COUNTY IN FLORIDA.
  NORTHERN HIGHLANDS COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 300 PM EST

* AT 232 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER CENTRAL HIGHLANDS COUNTY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT...
  LORIDA.
  FROSTPROOF.
  RURAL NORTHERN HIGHLANDS COUNTY.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM MOVE INTO THE INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD AND
BODY WITH PILLOWS OR BLANKETS.


&&

LAT...LON 2744 8133 2743 8127 2782 8115 2794 8137
          2779 8148

$$

25

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 15, 11:13 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW62 min
Nov 16, 1:46 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW44 min
Nov 16, 8:53 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW52 min
Nov 16, 10:10 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW50 min
Nov 16, 10:43 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningTBWCharlotte, DeSoto, Highlands, Lee, Sarasota3 hr
Nov 16, 11:09 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW2 hr
Nov 16, 11:57 AM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW63 min
Nov 16, 12:55 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW2 hr
Nov 16, 12:55 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW2 hr
Nov 16, 1:06 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningTBW54 min
Nov 16, 1:21 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto24 min
Nov 16, 1:30 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningTBWCharlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and 1 more2 hr
Nov 16, 1:42 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHighlands48 min
Nov 16, 2:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands, Polk31 min
Nov 16, 3:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningTBWCharlotte, Lee63 min
Nov 16, 4:24 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningTBWLee111 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.