Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 28, NWS Melbourne, FL

December 18, 2009Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 18, 2009, 5:37 AM EST for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 24 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: Dec 18, 2009, 5:37 AM EST (10:37 UTC)
Expired: Dec 18, 2009, 6:01 AM EST
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Melbourne, FL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Brevard County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:41 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

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 19 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: 23 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 887 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 118 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 KMLB 181037
TORMLB
FLC009-181115-
/O.NEW.KMLB.TO.W.0028.091218T1037Z-091218T1115Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
537 AM EST FRI DEC 18 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL BREVARD COUNTY IN FLORIDA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...SHARPES...PORT CANAVERAL...MERRITT
  ISLAND...CAPE CANAVERAL...COCOA BEACH...

* UNTIL 615 AM EST.

* AT 533 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR COCOA
  BEACH...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 20 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO JETTY
  PARK.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A STRONG BUILDING ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR...IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A BATHROOM OR CLOSET.
KEEP AWAY FROM WINDOWS. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF
STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO
SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. ABANDON YOUR VEHICLE IF THE
TORNADO IS NEARBY.

&&

LAT...LON 2827 8060 2835 8063 2836 8065 2832 8066
      2834 8071 2837 8072 2835 8073 2843 8072
      2841 8075 2843 8077 2844 8076 2843 8074
      2852 8065 2837 8066 2835 8062 2842 8063
      2844 8060 2841 8058
TIME...MOT...LOC 1037Z 142DEG 16KT 2833 8058

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS52 KMLB 181101
SVSMLB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
601 AM EST FRI DEC 18 2009

FLC009-181109-
/O.CAN.KMLB.TO.W.0028.000000T0000Z-091218T1115Z/
BREVARD-
601 AM EST FRI DEC 18 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL BREVARD COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

AT 600 AM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT ROTATION WITHIN THE STORM 
THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING HAD WEAKENED SIGNIFICANTLY AND NO LONGER 
APPEARED CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES OR OTHER SEVERE WEATHER... 
THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HOWEVER...HEAVY RAIN AND 
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE.

LAT...LON 2827 8060 2835 8063 2836 8065 2832 8066
      2834 8071 2837 8072 2835 8073 2843 8072
      2841 8075 2843 8077 2844 8076 2843 8074
      2852 8065 2837 8066 2835 8062 2842 8063
      2844 8060 2841 8058
TIME...MOT...LOC 1059Z 142DEG 16KT 2841 8065

$$




CRISTALDI

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 17, 8:31 PM EST	Areal Flood Warning	MLB	Saint Lucie	104 min
Dec 18, 4:28 AM EST	Tornado Warning	MLB	Brevard, Indian River	33 min
Dec 18, 4:32 AM EST	Gale Warning	MLB		23 hr
Dec 18, 4:32 AM EST	Small Craft Advisory	MLB		71 hr
Dec 18, 4:35 AM EST	Lake Wind Advisory	MLB	Lake, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia	13 hr
Dec 18, 5:00 AM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		2 hr
Dec 18, 6:58 AM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		2 hr
Dec 18, 7:47 AM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		118 min
Dec 18, 8:56 AM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		2 hr
Dec 18, 9:41 AM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		2 hr
Dec 18, 5:12 PM EST	Tornado Warning	MLB	Osceola	48 min
Dec 18, 6:11 PM EST	Special Marine Warning	MLB		79 min

Nearby

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