Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 48, NWS Jacksonville, FL

September 5, 2004Saint Johns County, Florida

NWS Jacksonville, FL issued this tornado warning at Sep 5, 2004, 11:56 PM EDT for Saint Johns County, Florida. It was in force for 34 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: Sep 5, 2004, 11:56 PM EDT (03:56 UTC)
Expired: Sep 6, 2004, 12:30 AM EDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Jacksonville, FL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Saint Johns County, FL

The radar

The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:57 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Sep 5, 8:35 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 70 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: 498 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 529 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 110 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

313 
WFUS52 KJAX 060357
TORJAX
FLC109-060430-
/X.NEW.KJAX.TO.W.0028.040906T0356Z-040906T0430Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1156 PM EDT SUN SEP 5 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ST. JOHNS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF FRUIT COVE

* UNTIL 1230 AM EDT

* AT 1148 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ST. AUGUSTINE SHORES...OR
  ABOUT 7 MILES WEST OF CRESCENT BEACH...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  SWITZERLAND AND FRUIT COVE BY 1230 AM EDT

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT
TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR DAMAGE TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...OR YOU CAN CALL THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE DIRECTLY AT 800-499-1594 TO REPORT
SEVERE WEATHER.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 AM EDT MONDAY MORNING 
FOR NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA.

LAT...LON 2968 8140 2977 8152 2984 8157 2993 8159
      2994 8157 3003 8167 3012 8165 3013 8160
      2979 8126

$$

HESS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 6, 12:17 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Clay	43 min
Sep 6, 2:04 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Saint Johns	26 min
Sep 6, 12:51 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	JAX		54 min
Sep 6, 1:36 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	JAX		114 min
Sep 6, 3:22 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	JAX		113 min
Sep 6, 5:10 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	JAX		95 min
Sep 6, 6:39 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Clay, Saint Johns	51 min
Sep 6, 6:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Putnam	39 min
Sep 6, 7:13 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Clay, Saint Johns	47 min
Sep 6, 7:33 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Clay	27 min
Sep 6, 7:40 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Duval, Saint Johns	50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.