Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 13

February 24, 200414 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 24, 2004, 10:25 AM EST for 14 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 24, 2004, 10:25 AM EST (15:25 UTC)
Expired: Feb 24, 2004, 4:00 PM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Brevard County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Lake County, FL, Marion County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Seminole County, FL, Sumter County, FL, Volusia County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:28 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

5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 24, 11:21 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Orange	24 min
Feb 24, 11:55 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Orange	35 min
Feb 24, 12:14 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hernando, Pasco	31 min
Feb 24, 12:42 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MLB	Brevard	63 min
Feb 24, 1:25 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough	35 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

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 120 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: 348 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 782 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 206 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 237 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 241522
SEL3  
SPC WW 241525
FLZ000-CWZ000-242100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 13
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1025 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       CENTRAL FLORIDA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1025 AM UNTIL
400 PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SAINT PETERSBURG
FLORIDA TO 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DAYTONA BEACH FLORIDA.

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...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY OVER CNTRL FL AS WARM
SECTOR TO THE SOUTH OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARY DESTABILIZES. DEEP LAYER
SHEAR IS SUPPORTIVE OF ORGANIZED STORMS INCLUDING SUPERCELLS AND
SMALL SCALE BOW ECHOES WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WIND THE
MAIN THREATS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26030.


...DIAL/HART

291,0830 292,0804 280,0802 274,0825

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 24, 10:02 AM EST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Brevard, Hardee, Hillsborough, Indian River, Manatee, Okeechobee and 5 more	118 min
Feb 24, 2:04 PM EST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Manatee and 4 more	116 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 2004 Every tornado watch 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.