Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2013
Tornado Watch 45
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 25, 2013, 11:59 PM CST for 18 counties in Florida; 9 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 25, 2013, 11:59 PM CST (05:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 26, 2013, 8:00 AM CST
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 27 counties
Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Levy County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA
The radar
The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:02 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
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 12:51 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay | 54 min |
| Feb 26, 1:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Holmes, Walton, Washington | 39 min |
| Feb 26, 1:43 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Washington | 62 min |
| Feb 26, 2:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Franklin, Gulf | 50 min |
| Feb 26, 3:32 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Franklin, Liberty, Wakulla | 43 min |
| Feb 26, 3:53 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | TAE | Gadsden, Liberty | 3 hr |
| Feb 26, 4:12 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Wakulla | 48 min |
| Feb 26, 4:32 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Leon, Wakulla | 43 min |
| Feb 26, 4:34 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | TAE | Gadsden, Leon | 86 min |
| Feb 26, 4:52 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Jefferson, Leon | 38 min |
| Feb 26, 5:08 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Dixie, Lafayette, Taylor | 67 min |
| Feb 26, 5:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Brooks, Lowndes, Thomas | 42 min |
| Feb 26, 5:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Madison | 45 min |
| Feb 26, 5:44 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Dixie | 46 min |
| Feb 26, 5:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Lanier, Lowndes | 59 min |
| Feb 26, 6:25 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Citrus, Levy | 65 min |
| Feb 26, 6:36 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Lafayette | 9 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 52 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 502 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 68 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 339 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 337 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
262
WWUS20 KWNS 260556
SEL5
SPC WW 260556
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-261400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 45
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1255 AM EST TUE FEB 26 2013
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
FLORIDA PANHANDLE
FAR SOUTHWEST GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 1255 AM UNTIL 900 AM 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 45 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF PANAMA
CITY FLORIDA TO 25 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF CROSS CITY FLORIDA.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).
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.
DISCUSSION...THE REGION WILL BE INCREASINGLY INFLUENCED...AT LEAST
PERIPHERALLY...BY AN EASTWARD-SHIFTING UPPER TROUGH OVER THE
ARKLATEX/OZARKS REGION. WITH STRONG TSTMS ALREADY ONGOING OFF THE
COAST OF THE FL PANHANDLE...A MARITIME AIRMASS /65+ F SURFACE
DEWPOINTS/ WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD INTO THE FL PANHANDLE THROUGH THE
EARLY MORNING HOURS OF TUESDAY VIA A STRENGTHENING /50+ KT/ LOW
LEVEL JET. GIVEN VERY STRONG SHEAR/AMPLE LOW LEVEL SRH...POTENTIAL
WILL EXIST FOR SUPERCELLS/EMBEDDED BOWS CAPABLE OF A FEW TORNADOES
AND WIND DAMAGE.
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 24045.
...GUYERSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25, 7:57 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile and 2 more | 63 min |
| Feb 25, 9:31 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Covington, Escambia, Mobile | 59 min |
| Feb 26, 2:51 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Dixie, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson and 8 more | 114 min |
| Feb 26, 5:19 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 16 more | 116 min |
| Feb 26, 5:49 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus and 31 more | 8 hr |
| Feb 26, 10:38 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler and 19 more | 67 min |
| Feb 26, 7:44 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bulloch, Effingham, Screven | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2013Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2013Every tornado watch in 2013
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.