Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Tallahassee, FL

March 20, 2003Bay County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 2003, 1:37 AM CST for Bay County, Florida. It was in force for 38 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 20, 2003, 1:37 AM CST (07:37 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 2003, 2:15 AM CST
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bay County, FL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 19, 9:25 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 137 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1137 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 140 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1137 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

789 
WFUS52 KTAE 200737
TORTLH
FLC005-200815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
136 AM CST THU MAR 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BAY COUNTY IN FLORIDA
  THIS INCLUDES...PANAMA CITY BEACH...PANAMA CITY...

* UNTIL 215 AM CST

* AT 132 AM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A   
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF PANAMA CITY BEACH...MOVING 
  NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  PANAMA CITY BEACH...LOWER GRAND LAGOON BY 140 AM CST...
  UPPER GRAND LAGOON BY 145 AM CST...
  PRETTY BAYOU...PANAMA CITY BY 150 AM CST...

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...ABANDON YOUR MOBILE HOME FOR
A REINFORCED SHELTER.

LAT...LON 3025 8597 3011 8577 3022 8539 3042 8544
          3045 8578

$$

17-GOULD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 11:15 PM CSTTornado WarningTAEWalton45 min
Mar 19, 11:51 PM CSTSpecial Marine WarningTAE114 min
Mar 20, 2:19 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEBay, Calhoun, Jackson41 min
Mar 20, 2:56 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEJackson49 min
Mar 20, 4:44 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningTAEBay3 hr

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.