Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Melbourne, FL

March 19, 2003Volusia County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2003, 6:43 PM EST for Volusia County, Florida. It was in force for 32 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 19, 2003, 6:43 PM EST (23:43 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2003, 7:15 PM EST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Volusia County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:45 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 83 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1017 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 152 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
1017 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
745 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
6.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

516 
WFUS52 KMLB 192343
TORMLB
FLC127-200015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
641 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN VOLUSIA COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 715 PM EST

* AT 641 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER 
 DELTONA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH.

* THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO...
  MOVE OVER DELTONA AND TOWARD LAKE ASHBY.

THIS STORM SHOWED SIGNS OF ROTATION AND COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT 
ANY TIME. DONT GET CAUGHT OFF GUARD THE STORM IS ALSO PRODUCING
EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN A STRONG
BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
BATHROOM OR CLOSET. KEEP AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF NECESSARY...GET UNDER
A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

LAT...LON 2894 8131 2880 8118 2902 8082 2920 8098

$$

52

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 4:00 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB90 min
Mar 19, 5:28 PM ESTSpecial Marine WarningMLB2 hr
Mar 19, 6:23 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBVolusia52 min

Nearby

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