Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 44, NWS Melbourne, FL

October 20, 2004Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 20, 2004, 6:03 PM EDT for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 27 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
Oct 20, 2004, 6:03 PM EDT (22:03 UTC)
Expired
Oct 20, 2004, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Brevard County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:06 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 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 195 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 12:00Z on 2004-10-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2984 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2004-10-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 81 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
2984 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
6.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KMLB 202203
TORMLB
FLC009-202230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
602 PM EDT WED OCT 20 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL BREVARD COUNTY
  IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 556 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
A   LARGE WATERSPOUT OVER THE BANANA RIVER MOVING TOWARDS CAPE 
CANAVERAL.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR PORT CANAVERAL AT 605 PM EDT

WEATHER SPOTTERS HAVE CONFIRMED THIS WATERSPOUT. TAKE IMMEDIATE 
COVER.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A STRONG BUILDING ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS
TO COVER YOUR HEAD AND BODY.

EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO
SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST UNFLOODED DITCH...
CULVERT...OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN A NEARBY TORNADO IN YOUR CAR.

LAT...LON 2850 8059 2838 8074 2809 8050 2824 8031

$$

SPRATT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 19, 8:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard, Volusia57 min
Oct 20, 4:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola41 min
Oct 20, 6:11 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMLB64 min

Nearby

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