Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Melbourne, FL

March 9, 2003Lake County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 9, 2003, 4:20 PM EST for Lake County, Florida. It was in force for 40 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: Mar 9, 2003, 4:20 PM EST (21:20 UTC)
Expired: Mar 9, 2003, 5:00 PM EST
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Melbourne, FL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lake County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:22 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

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 102 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: 16 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -359 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1152 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 226 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

865 
WFUS52 KMLB 092120
TORMLB
FLC069-092200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
417 PM EST SUN MAR 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN LAKE COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 500 PM EST

* AT 411 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 16 MILES WEST OF MASCOTTE...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR MASCOTTE AT 435 PM EST
  NEAR GROVELAND AT 440 PM EST
  NEAR CLERMONT AT 455 PM EST

THIS STORM DOES HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING TORNADOS.  PUBLIC 
REPORTS HAVE CONFIRMED SIGHTING A TORNADO WITHIN THIS STORM SHORTLY 
AFTER 400 PM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IF IN THE PATH OF THIS 
DANGEROUS STORM.

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 2865 8218 2847 8222 2836 8168 2859 8169

$$

&

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 9, 1:25 PM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		115 min
Mar 9, 2:18 PM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		72 min
Mar 9, 5:34 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Orange, Osceola	41 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

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.