Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Melbourne, FL

August 18, 2003Orange County, Osceola County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2003, 5:35 PM EDT for Orange County, Osceola 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: Aug 18, 2003, 5:35 PM EDT (21:35 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Melbourne, FL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:38 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

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 95 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: 1996 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 12 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.

000 
WFUS52 KMLB 182135
TORMLB
FLC095-097-182215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
535 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN ORANGE COUNTY
  NORTHWESTERN OSCEOLA COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 615 PM EDT

* AT 528 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
A   TORNADO NEAR KISSIMMEE...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR CAMPBELL...BUENA VENTURA LAKES AT 540 PM EDT
  NEAR KISSIMMEE AT 540 PM EDT
  NEAR PLEASURE ISLAND...5 MILES SOUTH OF SEA WORLD...6 MILES
     SOUTHEAST OF EPCOT...7 MILES EAST OF MGM STUDIOS AT 615 PM EDT

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 2815 8140 2827 8125 2856 8148 2837 8171

$$

15

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 2:05 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	MLB		85 min
Aug 18, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Lake	63 min
Aug 18, 6:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Orange	63 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.