Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 63, NWS Mobile, AL

May 15, 2008Santa Rosa County, Florida; Escambia County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at May 15, 2008, 12:15 PM CDT for Santa Rosa County, Florida; Escambia County, Alabama. It was in force for 45 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
May 15, 2008, 12:15 PM CDT (17:15 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 2008, 1:00 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Escambia County, AL, Santa Rosa County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:19 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 15, 8:58 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 229 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2008-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 203 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2008-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 64 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
203 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
571 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
44 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 
WFUS54 KMOB 151715
TORMOB
ALC053-FLC113-151800-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0063.080515T1715Z-080515T1800Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1215 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN SANTA ROSA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA...
  EASTERN ESCAMBIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 100 PM CDT

* AT 1214 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR JAY...OR
  ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF BREWTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 46 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  DIXONVILLE BY 1220 PM CDT...
  ROCK HILL AND 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF MCLELLAN BY 1230 PM CDT...
  ROBERTS BY 1235 PM CDT...
  PARKER SPRINGS AND BOYKIN BY 1240 PM CDT...
  US 29 AND CR 43 AND 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF BRADLEY BY 1245 PM CDT...
  DIXIE BY 1250 PM CDT...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING...PREFERABLY IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR A ROOM SUCH AS
A CLOSET OR BATHROOM. IF POSSIBLE...GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER
PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY
AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS
STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE DAMAGING HAIL OR DAMAGING
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

IF YOU ARE IN MOBILE HOME...EVACUATE IT AND GET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING OR IN AN UNDERGROUND STORM SHELTER. IF NO
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER IS AVAILABLE AND A TORNADO IS FAST APPROACHING...
SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW DEPRESSION AND COVER YOUR
HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 PM CDT THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI.

LAT...LON 3122 8676 3121 8678 3120 8675 3111 8670
      3101 8671 3088 8716 3096 8723 3127 8679
TIME...MOT...LOC 1715Z 237DEG 40KT 3097 8712

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 11:10 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBOkaloosa, Santa Rosa52 min
May 15, 11:36 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia, Santa Rosa39 min
May 15, 11:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia, Santa Rosa41 min
May 15, 12:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa43 min
May 15, 12:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa44 min
May 15, 12:35 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBOkaloosa, Santa Rosa40 min
May 15, 1:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBOkaloosa38 min
May 15, 10:24 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB96 min
May 15, 10:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile67 min
May 15, 11:01 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia59 min
May 15, 11:06 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin, Escambia24 min
May 15, 11:10 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBMonroe23 min
May 15, 11:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBChoctaw, Clarke, Washington41 min
May 15, 11:42 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Crenshaw48 min
May 15, 11:43 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB92 min
May 15, 11:51 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Covington, Escambia39 min
May 15, 12:00 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Crenshaw45 min
May 15, 12:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMonroe, Wilcox31 min
May 15, 12:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBButler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw45 min
May 15, 12:48 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBButler, Crenshaw28 min
May 15, 12:50 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Escambia40 min
May 15, 1:15 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBCrenshaw19 min
May 15, 1:16 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB89 min
May 15, 2:45 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB45 min

Nearby

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