Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2008
Tornado Watch 82
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 26, 2008, 3:41 PM EST for 20 counties in Florida. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 26, 2008, 3:41 PM EST (20:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 26, 2008, 8:39 PM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Brevard County, FL, Citrus County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lake County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Sarasota County, FL, Seminole County, FL, Sumter County, FL, Volusia County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:45 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 70%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 3:59 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Citrus, Levy | 31 min |
| Feb 26, 4:32 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Sumter | 28 min |
| Feb 26, 4:58 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Polk, Sumter | 32 min |
| Feb 26, 4:59 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Lake | 61 min |
| Feb 26, 5:07 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pasco | 23 min |
| Feb 26, 5:30 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pasco, Polk, Sumter | 30 min |
| Feb 26, 5:40 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia | 65 min |
| Feb 26, 6:27 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Brevard | 48 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, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 96 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
- 734 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -41 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 573 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 165 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 172 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 262040
SEL2
SPC WW 262040
FLZ000-CWZ000-270400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 82
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
335 PM EST TUE FEB 26 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL FLORIDA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 335 PM UNTIL
1100 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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF
OCALA FLORIDA TO 45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF AVON PARK FLORIDA. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).
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...CONTINUE...WW 80...WW 81...
DISCUSSION...CLUSTERS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AND
SPREAD QUICKLY ENEWD ACROSS CENTRAL FL THIS EVENING. WIND DAMAGE
WILL BE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT...ALTHOUGH STRENGTHENING SHEAR AHEAD
OF DEEPENING MID/UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SHOULD SUSTAIN A FEW SUPERCELLS
AND POSSIBLY A FEW TORNADOES. ISOLATED LARGE HAIL IS ALSO
POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING.
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 26040.
...EVANSSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 6:12 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 4 hr |
| Feb 26, 7:50 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and 2 more | 85 min |
| Feb 26, 8:39 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf and 11 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 26, 10:22 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Gadsden, Gulf and 13 more | 83 min |
| Feb 26, 10:35 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Gadsden, Gulf and 13 more | 85 min |
| Feb 26, 11:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 18 more | 9 hr |
| Feb 26, 2:02 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 20 more | 88 min |
| Feb 26, 2:41 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Glades and 22 more | 94 min |
Nearby
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.