Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Miami, FL

May 20, 2009Palm Beach County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2009, 12:46 PM EDT for Palm Beach County, Florida. It was in force for 19 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 20, 2009, 12:46 PM EDT (16:46 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2009, 1:05 PM EDT
In force
19 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Palm Beach County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:46 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 nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 77 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 2009-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1791 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, Miami, FL at 12:00Z on 2009-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 65 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1791 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KMFL 201646
TORMFL
FLC099-201715-
/O.NEW.KMFL.TO.W.0004.090520T1646Z-090520T1715Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1246 PM EDT WED MAY 20 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL PALM BEACH COUNTY IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 115 PM EDT

* AT 1242 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR VILLAGE OF
  GOLF OR NORTHWEST OF DELRAY BEACH...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH.

  THIS STORM IS ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND
  DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  VILLAGE OF GOLF...
  AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.

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 COULD POSSIBLY DEVELOP ANYTIME. 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.

LAT...LON 2648 8021 2662 8021 2650 8008 2645 8010
TIME...MOT...LOC 1644Z 115DEG 14KT 2648 8012

$$

GR
1 follow-up statement
773 
WWUS52 KMFL 201705
SVSMFL

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
105 PM EDT WED MAY 20 2009

FLC099-201714-
/O.CAN.KMFL.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-090520T1715Z/
PALM BEACH FL-
105 PM EDT WED MAY 20 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL PALM BEACH COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...

THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE AREA. FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS TO
35 MPH...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND SMALL HAIL ARE STILL POSSIBLE. NO 
REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST UPDATES.

LAT...LON 2648 8021 2662 8021 2650 8008 2645 8010
TIME...MOT...LOC 1704Z 115DEG 14KT 2651 8020

$$

GR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 1:05 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL25 min
May 20, 3:35 AM EDTCoastal Flood StatementMFLBroward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach16 hr
May 20, 9:43 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL32 min
May 20, 10:45 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL60 min
May 20, 11:41 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL64 min
May 20, 12:04 PM EDTTornado WarningMFLPalm Beach26 min
May 20, 12:24 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLPalm Beach51 min
May 20, 12:30 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLPalm Beach30 min
May 20, 12:33 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL57 min
May 20, 12:39 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLBroward66 min
May 20, 12:52 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL113 min
May 20, 1:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach13 min
May 20, 1:22 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL53 min
May 20, 1:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach30 min
May 20, 1:35 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLGlades55 min
May 20, 1:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLGlades18 min
May 20, 1:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach21 min
May 20, 2:17 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL58 min
May 20, 2:35 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLGlades55 min
May 20, 2:38 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLPalm Beach67 min
May 20, 2:41 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL94 min
May 20, 3:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLHendry, Palm Beach35 min
May 20, 3:12 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL32 min
May 20, 3:15 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLBroward60 min
May 20, 4:10 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL80 min
May 20, 4:11 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLHendry64 min
May 20, 5:19 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL94 min
May 20, 5:34 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLBroward56 min
May 20, 5:57 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningMFL53 min
May 20, 6:30 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLPalm Beach60 min
May 20, 6:44 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLBroward61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2009Every tornado warning in 2009Tornadoes in 2009

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.