Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 545

October 28, 202141 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 28, 2021, 9:00 AM EDT for 41 counties in Florida. It was in force for 10 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 28, 2021, 9:00 AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
Expired
Oct 28, 2021, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
10 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 41 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Brevard County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Lake County, FL, Lee County, FL, Levy County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Marion County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Sarasota County, FL, Seminole County, FL, Sumter County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Volusia County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:59 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
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

19 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 28, 12:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXAlachua, Marion, Putnam39 min
Oct 28, 12:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXMarion50 min
Oct 28, 12:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXClay, Flagler, Putnam, Saint Johns57 min
Oct 28, 12:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXMarion45 min
Oct 28, 1:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk45 min
Oct 28, 1:16 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough, Pinellas13 min
Oct 28, 1:19 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota26 min
Oct 28, 1:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXFlagler, Marion, Putnam, Saint Johns65 min
Oct 28, 1:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake, Orange52 min
Oct 28, 1:52 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Manatee, Sarasota23 min
Oct 28, 2:14 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWManatee16 min
Oct 28, 2:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake, Orange, Seminole41 min
Oct 28, 2:27 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Manatee18 min
Oct 28, 2:54 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota21 min
Oct 28, 2:57 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto18 min
Oct 28, 3:11 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto, Hardee19 min
Oct 28, 3:29 PM EDTTornado WarningMLBVolusia16 min
Oct 28, 4:59 PM EDTTornado WarningMLBIndian River, Osceola31 min
Oct 28, 5:21 PM EDTTornado WarningMLBBrevard, Indian River24 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, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 128 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2021-10-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1406 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2021-10-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 211 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
1406 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
675 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
236 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
10.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

566 
WWUS20 KWNS 281257
SEL5  
SPC WW 281257
FLZ000-CWZ000-282100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 545
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
900 AM EDT Thu Oct 28 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Florida
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Thursday morning and afternoon from 900 AM until
  500 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes possible
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...Severe thunderstorms including the potential for wind
damage and a few tornadoes will increase through late
morning/afternoon especially across the northern/western Florida
Peninsula as the air mass destabilizes and deep-layer/low-level
winds strengthen.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 65 statute miles
east and west of a line from 55 miles north northwest of Gainesville
FL to 15 miles west southwest of Fort Myers FL. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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.

&&

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
storm motion vector 22040.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 27, 8:21 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCEscambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa7 hr
Oct 27, 10:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEscambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa97 min
Oct 27, 11:22 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Franklin, Gulf, Walton2 hr
Oct 28, 12:21 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Liberty, Wakulla and 2 more6 hr
Oct 28, 8:12 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Bradford, Citrus, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hernando and 7 more2 hr
Oct 28, 11:51 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharlotte, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough and 11 more114 min
Oct 28, 2:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharlotte, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Lake, Manatee and 3 more97 min
Oct 28, 4:11 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrevard, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Highlands, Indian River and 2 more94 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 2021Every tornado watch in 2021

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.