Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Key West, FL

August 18, 2008Monroe County, Florida

NWS Key West, FL issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2008, 1:01 PM EDT for Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 22 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: Aug 18, 2008, 1:01 PM EDT (17:01 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2008, 1:23 PM EDT
In force: 22 min
Issued by: NWS Key West, FL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Monroe County, FL

The radar

The Key West radar (KBYX), 21 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:03 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
Aug 18, 12:30 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	10 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Key West, FL (KEYW), launched 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 24 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: 152 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 901 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KKEY 181701
TORKEY
FLC087-181730-
/O.NEW.KKEY.TO.W.0002.080818T1701Z-080818T1730Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST FL
101 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KEY WEST HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LOWER KEYS IN MONROE COUNTY IN FLORIDA...

* UNTIL 130 PM EDT

* AT 1258 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR BIG PINE
  KEY...OR 17 MILES WEST OF MARATHON...MOVING WEST AT 33 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  MIDDLE TORCH KEY AND RAMROD KEY BY 105 PM EDT...
  SUMMERLAND KEY AND BIG TORCH KEY BY 110 PM EDT...
  CUDJOE KEY BY 115 PM EDT...
  UPPER SUGARLOAF KEY AND SUGARLOAF KEY BY 120 PM EDT...
  BAY POINT BY 125 PM 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.

TORNADOES ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL CYCLONES MOVE RAPIDLY...ARE OFTEN
WRAPPED IN HEAVY RAIN...AND ARE DIFFICULT TO SEE OR HEAR UNTIL THEY
ARE VERY CLOSE. SEEK SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A 
STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN A LOW SPOT 
ON THE GROUND AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

PLEASE REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 
AGENCY OR THE U.S. COAST GUARD...AND ASK THAT YOUR REPORT BE RELAYED 
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST. YOU MAY CONTACT THE 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DIRECTLY AT 3 0 5...2 9 5...1 3 1 
6...EXTENSION 3.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT MONDAY EVENING
FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA.

LAT...LON 2470 8164 2468 8158 2472 8161 2475 8159
      2471 8153 2478 8150 2478 8128 2463 8128
      2463 8145 2459 8146 2460 8153 2457 8163
TIME...MOT...LOC 1700Z 087DEG 28KT 2469 8138

$$

11

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS52 KKEY 181723
SVSKEY

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST FL
123 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2008

FLC087-181728-
/O.CAN.KKEY.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-080818T1730Z/
LOWER KEYS IN MONROE FL-
118 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR THE CUDJOE AREA OF THE LOWER KEYS IN 
MONROE COUNTY IS CANCELED...

AT 117 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE TORNADO NEAR CUDJOE HAS 
DISSIPATED...AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO FURTHER REPORTS OF TORNADOES IN 
THIS AREA. THEREFORE THIS TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELED.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT MONDAY EVENING 
FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA.

LAT...LON 2470 8164 2468 8158 2472 8161 2475 8159
      2471 8153 2478 8150 2478 8128 2463 8128
      2463 8145 2459 8146 2460 8153 2457 8163
TIME...MOT...LOC 1718Z 087DEG 28KT 2468 8153

$$

11

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 12:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	KEY	Monroe	23 min
Aug 18, 1:12 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	KEY	Monroe	33 min
Aug 18, 2:19 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	KEY	Monroe	26 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

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.