Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 361
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 2004, 7:30 PM EDT for 11 counties in Florida; Charlton County, Echols County, Georgia. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2004, 7:30 PM EDT (23:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2004, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Duval County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Union County, FL, Charlton County, GA, Echols County, GA
The radar
The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 7:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Hamilton, Suwannee | 52 min |
| May 31, 8:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Echols | 50 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, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 67 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
- 583 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -98 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1193 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 91 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 107 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 4.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 312332
SEL1
SPC WW 312330
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-010300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 361
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
730 PM EDT MON MAY 31 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
FAR NORTHERN FLORIDA
A SMALL AREA OF SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY EVENING FROM 730 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT.
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 35 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 90 MILES WEST OF JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA TO 40
MILES SOUTHEAST OF JACKSONVILLE 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.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 356. WATCH NUMBER 356 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 730 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 357...WW 358...WW 359...WW
360...
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL WITH A HISTORY OF BRIEF TORNADOES CONTINUES
TO TRACK ESEWD INTO NRN FL AND WILL MOVE ACROSS NERN FL DURING THE
NEXT FEW HOURS...MOVING OFF THE COAST AROUND 03Z IF IT HOLDS
TOGETHER. THOUGH LOSS OF HEATING WILL SLOWLY COOL THE SURFACE...A
WELL-DEFINED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY AND SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY WILL STILL
BE PRESENT FOR A RISK OF DAMAGING WINDS/BRIEF TORNADOES AS THIS
ACTIVITY MOVES ACROSS FAR NERN FL.
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 28030.
...EVANS
310,0831 303,0811 293,0811 295,0831SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 10:21 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 9 more | 54 min |
| May 31, 11:00 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Escambia, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more | 6 hr |
| May 31, 11:18 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Nassau | 27 min |
| May 31, 11:40 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Hamilton | 6 hr |
| May 31, 2:06 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Escambia, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more | 54 min |
| May 31, 2:27 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Hamilton | 63 min |
| May 31, 3:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 5 more | 5 hr |
| May 31, 4:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson and 5 more | 4 hr |
| May 31, 6:28 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 3 more | 92 min |
| May 31, 6:59 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and 1 more | 61 min |
| May 30, 10:15 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dade | 7 hr |
| May 31, 12:05 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dade | 55 min |
| May 31, 1:40 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Banks, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dawson and 21 more | 5 hr |
| May 31, 2:06 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dade | 84 min |
| May 31, 4:40 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Banks, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dawson and 21 more | 95 min |
| May 31, 4:45 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barrow, Butts, Carroll, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta and 22 more | 5 hr |
| May 31, 6:31 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butts, Carroll, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford and 20 more | 119 min |
| May 31, 9:10 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock and 12 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2004Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2004Every 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.