Alert archive / Florida / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 259

March 16, 200325 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 16, 2003, 11:19 PM EST for 25 counties in Florida. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 16, 2003, 11:19 PM EST (04:19 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 2003, 2:15 AM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties

Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lake County, FL, Levy County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sumter County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:23 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 00:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 51 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 00:00Z on 2003-03-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 372 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 00:00Z on 2003-03-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 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
372 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1109 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

761 
ACUS11 KWNS 170420
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 170419 
FLZ000-170715-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0259
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1019 PM CST SUN MAR 16 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...SRN/CNTRL PENINSULA

CONCERNING...CONVECTIVE TRENDS 

VALID 170419Z - 170715Z

...EXPANSIVE BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIFT NEWD ACROSS THE
CENTRAL/SRN PENINSULA OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...



LATE EVENING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY DEPICTS GOOD CONTINUITY OF UPPER
SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING NEWD ACROSS THE SERN GULF OF MEXICO/WRN
FL STRAITS TOWARD THE FL PENINSULA.  AN EXPANSIVE AREA OF
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE AND EXTEND
JUST OFFSHORE WEST OF CTY...SSEWD TO NEAR KEY...MOVING ENEWD AT
ROUGHLY 30 KT.	IF CURRENT SPEED/MOVEMENT CONTINUES...LEADING
EDGE OF THIS ACTIVITY WILL SHIFT TO THE ERN PENINSULA BY 07-08Z. 
VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES ARE JUST STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT
ORGANIZED MULTI-CELL CLUSTERS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF GUSTY
WINDS OR MARGINAL SEVERE HAIL.	LONG-LIVED ROTATING UPDRAFTS ARE
NOT EXPECTED AND THUS TORNADO POTENTIAL APPEARS MINIMAL.

..DARROW.. 03/17/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...MFL...MLB...TBW...JAX...TAE...

29468310 28578083 26338006 25228082 27198240 28828311

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 17, 1:57 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Dixie, Gilchrist and 17 more2 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Florida, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.