Alert archive / Florida / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 1817

August 26, 201210 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 26, 2012, 10:44 PM EDT for 10 counties in Florida. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 26, 2012, 10:44 PM EDT (02:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 27, 2012, 12:45 AM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
60%

Counties Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:44 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 00:00Z on 2012-08-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2399 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 2012-08-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 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
2399 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

118 
ACUS11 KWNS 270244
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 270244 
FLZ000-270445-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1817
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0944 PM CDT SUN AUG 26 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...SRN FLORIDA

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

VALID 270244Z - 270445Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...60 PERCENT

SUMMARY...IT IS NOT YET CERTAIN THAT A TORNADO WATCH WILL BE NEEDED
THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT...BUT TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR A
CONTINUED INCREASE IN SEVERE POTENTIAL THAT COULD POSSIBLY REQUIRE
ONE.

DISCUSSION...WITH TROPICAL STORM ISAAC TAKING A GRADUAL TURN TO THE
NORTHWEST AS IT PROGRESSES WEST OF THE LOWER KEYS INTO THE
SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO...LOW-LEVEL FLOW FIELDS HAVE VEERED
SOME...TO A MORE SOUTHERLY COMPONENT...ACROSS SOUTHERN
FLORIDA...WITH SOME STRENGTHENING TO 50+ KT IN THE LOWEST 1-2 KM
EVIDENT IN VAD WIND PROFILER DATA.  THIS HAS COINCIDED WITH
INTENSIFICATION OF CONVECTIVE BANDS...AS REFLECTED BY
EXPANDING/COOLING CLOUD TOPS AND INCREASING CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING...ON THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF ISAAC...ACROSS COASTAL AREAS
NEAR/NORTH OF MIAMI...INTO THE INTERIOR SOUTH CENTRAL PENINSULA. 
ALTHOUGH LATEST OBJECTIVE ANALYSES SUGGEST THAT APPRECIABLE BOUNDARY
LAYER INSTABILITY REMAINS CONFINED TO THE MORE IMMEDIATE SOUTHEAST
COASTAL AREAS...POTENTIAL APPEARS TO EXIST FOR THE INLAND ADVECTION
OF A MORE MOIST/DEEPER BOUNDARY LAYER OVERNIGHT...AS LOW-LEVEL WINDS
CONTINUE TO VEER TO THE SOUTH.  IF THIS OCCURS...IN THE PRESENCE OF
CONTINUING STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR...IT MAY NOT BE OUT OF THE
QUESTION THAT THE POTENTIAL COULD INCREASE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.

..KERR/CORFIDI.. 08/27/2012

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...MFL...MLB...TBW...

LAT...LON   27158244 27358161 27138024 26478007 25618016 25488045
            25498112 26048177 26468190 27158244

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 11:24 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBrevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades and 17 more12 hr
Aug 27, 3:44 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBroward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 16 more2 hr
Aug 27, 7:26 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrevard, Citrus, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hernando, Indian River and 13 more3 hr
Aug 27, 7:55 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBroward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 16 more95 min
Aug 27, 11:54 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCIndian River, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Saint Lucie and 3 more2 hr
Aug 27, 2:28 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCitrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough and 6 more92 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Florida, 2012Every mesoscale discussion in 2012

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.