Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 941
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 28, 2003, 11:20 AM EST for 19 counties in Florida; 6 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 28, 2003, 11:20 AM EST (16:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 28, 2003, 5:00 PM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties
Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Levy County, FL, Marion County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Brantley County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, McIntosh County, GA
The radar
The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:22 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.
Warnings issued inside it
2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2:17 PM EST | Tornado Warning | JAX | Columbia | 28 min |
| Oct 28, 2:59 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Charlton, Ware | 46 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 84 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 696 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 188 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 281620
SEL1
SPC WW 281620
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-282200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 941
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1120 AM EST TUE OCT 28 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN FLORIDA
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1120 AM UNTIL
500 PM EST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CROSS CITY FLORIDA TO 55
MILES EAST OF BRUNSWICK GEORGIA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
DISCUSSION...SURFACE LOW OVER NERN GULF EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS NERN
FL WHERE FRONTAL BOUNDARY LOCATED. WITH VERY MOIST TROPICAL WARM
SECTOR AND FAVORABLE SHEAR WITH APPROACH OF UPPER TROUGH FROM THE
W...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS AHEAD OF
SURFACE LOW...PARTICULARLY VICINITY OF FRONTAL ZONE THIS AFTERNOON.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HALES
295,0840 315,0810 302,0795 282,0830SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 10:52 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 14 more | 53 min |
| Oct 28, 12:24 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 13 more | 66 min |
| Oct 28, 3:05 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 13 more | 55 min |
| Oct 28, 3:55 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Nassau and 2 more | 65 min |
| Oct 28, 4:30 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Dixie and 12 more | 6 hr |
| Oct 28, 6:24 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Duval and 11 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2003Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Every tornado watch 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.