Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2023
Tornado Watch 708
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 12, 2023, 8:48 AM EDT for 28 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 12, 2023, 8:48 AM EDT (12:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 12, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 28 counties
Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Lake County, FL, Levy County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Marion County, FL, Orange County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns 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), 134 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:50 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
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 30%
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 10:19 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Alachua, Putnam | 17 min |
| Oct 12, 11:00 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Citrus, Hernando | 32 min |
| Oct 12, 11:35 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas | 25 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, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 134 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
- 1960 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 717 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 241 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 307 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.9
- Supercell composite
- 17.0
The text
As transmitted.
010 WWUS20 KWNS 121246 SEL8 SPC WW 121246 FLZ000-CWZ000-121900- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 708 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 845 AM EDT Thu Oct 12 2023 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northern and central Florida Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday morning and afternoon from 845 AM until 300 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Some supercell/tornado potential should persist through at least midday across northern and portions of central FL, as destabilization counterbalances very slowly weakening shear. A few damaging to severe gusts also may occur from the most vigorous cells. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles either side of a line from 60 miles east northeast of Saint Petersburg FL to 40 miles north northeast of Cross City FL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8). 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...This tornado watch replaces tornado watch number 707. Watch number 707 will not be in effect after 845 AM EDT. 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 550. Mean storm motion vector 23030. ...Edwards
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 10:40 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and 2 more | 95 min |
| Oct 12, 12:23 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, DeSoto, Dixie, Gilchrist and 18 more | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 12:49 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 27 more | 8 hr |
| Oct 12, 2:45 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Lake, Marion and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 5:07 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Marion, Orange and 5 more | 113 min |
| Oct 12, 8:09 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Brevard, Citrus, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist and 14 more | 96 min |
| Oct 12, 11:53 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 2:12 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Marion and 7 more | 93 min |
Nearby
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.