A strong upper level trough and surface cold front moved through the region, bringing a round of severe weather across the area. Isolated supercells developed ahead of the main squall line, and one produced an EF2 tornado in Florida which was the longest continuous damage path in Florida since the Central Florida outbreak of February 1, 2007.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS TAE wrote it up.
A strong upper level trough and surface cold front moved through the region, bringing a round of severe weather across the area. Isolated supercells developed ahead of the main squall line, and one produced an EF2 tornado in Florida which was the longest continuous damage path in Florida since the Central Florida outbreak of February 1, 2007.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 17, 1:51 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
251 AM EST Mon Nov 17 2014
...Slight Risk of Severe Storms Today...
...A Hard Freeze with Record Cold Temperatures Expected This Week...
.Near Term [Through Today]...
Regional 04Z surface analysis showed an area of low pressure on the
south-central border between Mississippi and Alabama, with a cold
front extending southwestward from it across Mississippi and
Louisiana and out over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. A warm front
extends eastward from the low, across southern Alabama and Georgia.
Southerly flow out ahead of the cold front/south of the warm front
has brought a return of warm, moist air to the area. With this
return flow, we have already seen the lowest temperatures we will
see for the night and surface dew points have already risen back into
the 60s. Scattered convection in this warm sector will be seen
overnight, with the main line of storms associated with this front
moving west to east across the area after sunrise.
The models continue to show a fairly tight gradient of SBCAPE along
the coast, with 500-1000 J/kg likely along the coastline, with
higher values offshore and lower values further inland. In addition
to this available energy, we'll also have a good amount of
shear. GFS 0-1 km shear will be around 30-35 kt today ahead of the
front with 0-6 km shear around 50-60 kt. The environment is
favorable for the development of supercell thunderstorms. The main
threat for severe weather today will be damaging straight-line
winds, but an isolated tornado or two cannot be ruled out. SPC
continues to show a slight risk for these severe storms, with the
higher likelihood of these storms closer to the coastline with
instability is higher. A tornado watch is in effect through 9 AM
CST or 10 AM EST west of a line from Albany to Tallahassee.
.Short Term [Tonight Through Wednesday]...
The front should clear southeast of our zones early in the period
taking any precipitation with it. An arctic air mass will then
quickly make its way across the region. By daybreak, freezing
temperatures will have made it as far southeast as VLD and inland
portions of the FL Panhandle. Coffee County will actually flirt
with hard freeze criteria, but should fall just shy of duration
requirements. We upgraded all counties that were in the freeze watch
to a freeze warning. Total freeze durations will range from about 2
hours along the southeast boundary of the warning to about 8 hours
in Coffee County. When wind is factored in, wind chill readings will
drop into the teens northwest of a line from Albany to Marianna to
Destin. A wind chill advisory will be issued later today. Max temps
will be quite cold by November standards. Look for mid 40s across
Southeast AL tapering gradually upward to the lower 50s in Dixie
County. The predicted high of 50 at TLH would tie it for the 4th
coolest max temperature ever recorded within the first 20 days of
November. This will set the stage for a widespread hard freeze
Tuesday night and a hard freeze watch has been issued for the entire
forecast area. Min temps by daybreak Wednesday will mainly be in the
upper teens and lower 20s. This is exceptionally cold for November.
In fact, the predicted low of 20 degrees at TLH would be the coldest
temperature ever recorded that early in the season. Total freeze
durations for this event will be as long as 14 hours well inland
with even the Panhandle beaches getting a few hours of freezing
temperatures. Highs Wednesday will range from the lower 50s north to
the mid 50s south.
.Long Term [Wednesday Night Through Monday]...
We will see a moderating trend in temps through this period as the
upper trough lifts away. In fact, we will actually see some upper
ridging by Saturday. We should see one more freeze Wednesday night
with min temps increase by a few degrees each night after that.
Daytime highs will increase from the lower to mid 60s on Thursday to
the lower 70s on Sunday. Surface high pressure will be in control as
well keeping rain chances at a minimum through Saturday. However, by
Saturday night and Sunday, another energetic system will be
approaching from the west and initial indications are that there
will be some potential for severe weather with this system as well.
&&
.Aviation...
[Through 06Z Tuesday] Conditions will bounce up and down between
MVFR and IFR ahead of an approaching cold front. Scattered
convection may affect terminals in the morning ahead of the main
line of thunderstorms ahead of the front, which will move west to
east across the area between 13-20Z. MVFR cigs may linger for a
few hours after the line has passed, but will improve to VFR by
around 00Z. Winds will be gusty today, especially with the main
line of storms and in the wake of the front, shifting from
southerly to northwesterly with the frontal passage.
&&
.Marine...
Onshore winds will increase to advisory levels later this morning
across the western waters. Winds will shift during the day with the
passage of a strong cold front some strong storms could precede the
front. Frequent gale-force gusts are expected in the offshore flow
behind the front across our offshore marine legs from late this
afternoon into Tuesday morning and a gale warning has been issued.
Winds will not drop below advisory levels until Wednesday morning.
High pressure will then build into the region keeping winds and seas
below headline criteria from midday Wednesday through the end of the
work week.
&&
.Fire Weather...
A significantly colder, drier air mass will move in quickly behind
today's front. Relative humidity values will drop into the teens and
twenties on Tuesday and Wednesday. Red flag conditions are likely.
&&
.Hydrology...
Rainfall totals today will stay around 0.75-1.00 inches, which will
cause minor rises on area rivers, but is not expected to cause
flooding given how low our area rivers currently are.
&&
.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Tallahassee 70 34 50 20 56 / 90 10 0 0 0
Panama City 69 33 50 29 54 / 100 10 0 0 0
Dothan 64 26 46 22 52 / 90 10 0 0 0
Albany 67 28 48 21 53 / 100 10 0 0 0
Valdosta 72 33 49 20 54 / 100 20 0 0 0
Cross City 74 38 52 21 56 / 90 40 0 0 0
Apalachicola 71 35 51 27 55 / 90 10 0 0 0
&&
.TAE Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
FL...Hard Freeze Watch from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning
for Calhoun-Central Walton-Coastal Bay-Coastal Dixie-
Coastal Franklin-Coastal Gulf-Coastal Jefferson-Coastal
Taylor-Coastal Wakulla-Gadsden-Holmes-Inland Bay-Inland
Dixie-Inland Franklin-Inland Gulf-Inland Jefferson-Inland
Taylor-Inland Wakulla-Inland Walton-Jackson-Lafayette-Leon-
Liberty-Madison-South Walton-Washington.
Freeze Warning from Midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Tuesday for
Calhoun-Central Walton-Holmes-Inland Bay-Inland Walton-
Jackson-South Walton-Washington.
GA...Hard Freeze Watch from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning
for Baker-Ben Hill-Berrien-Brooks-Calhoun-Clay-Colquitt-
Cook-Decatur-Dougherty-Early-Grady-Irwin-Lanier-Lee-Lowndes-
Miller-Mitchell-Quitman-Randolph-Seminole-Terrell-Thomas-
Tift-Turner-Worth.
Freeze Warning from 1 AM to 10 AM EST Tuesday for Baker-Ben Hill-
Calhoun-Clay-Decatur-Dougherty-Early-Irwin-Lee-Miller-
Mitchell-Quitman-Randolph-Seminole-Terrell-Tift-Turner-
Worth.
AL...Hard Freeze Watch from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning
for Coffee-Dale-Geneva-Henry-Houston.
Freeze Warning from Midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Tuesday for
Coffee-Dale-Geneva-Henry-Houston.
GM...Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 1 PM EST Tuesday
for Apalachee Bay-Coastal waters from Suwannee River to
Keaton Beach FL out 20 NM.
Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM EST this afternoon for Waters
from Suwannee River to Apalachicola FL from 20 to 60 NM-
Waters from Apalachicola to Destin FL from 20 to 60 NM.
Small Craft Advisory from 10 AM Tuesday to 7 AM EST Wednesday
for Waters from Suwannee River to Apalachicola FL from 20
to 60 NM-Waters from Apalachicola to Destin FL from 20 to
60 NM.
Gale Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM EST Tuesday for
Waters from Suwannee River to Apalachicola FL from 20 to 60
NM-Waters from Apalachicola to Destin FL from 20 to 60 NM.
Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EST Tuesday for Coastal waters
From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 NM-
Coastal waters from Apalachicola to Destin FL out 20 NM.
&&
NEAR TERM...MOORE
SHORT TERM...WOOL
LONG TERM...WOOL
AVIATION...MOORE
MARINE...WOOL
FIRE WEATHER...MOORE
HYDROLOGY...MOOREThe Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:50 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornadic debris signature was seen on dual-pol radar at this location. This is a rural and heavily forested area with no structural damage reported and poor road access.
Power flashes were witnessed near Inlet Beach.
The tornado likely began in a heavily forested area with limited access just SW of the Calhoun Correctional Institution - between the prison grounds and Highway 71. The beginning point was estimated based on the rest of the damage path and a lack of observed damage along Highway 71. The tornado then quickly intensified as it moved into the prison grounds. Several concrete buildings were heavily damaged - including a two-story printing facility. The eastern wall of that particular building was completely collapsed with the roof almost entirely removed. An adjacent concrete building also had large sections of roof removed. The damage to both of these buildings was rated EF2 with maximum estimated winds of 120-130 mph - in the high end of the EF2 range. Other buildings, including some warehouses, were also damaged on the prison grounds. There were some light poles that were snapped, and some trees near the entrance to the facility were also snapped. All of that additional damage was rated EF1. Over 30 cars that were parked in the parking lot by the administrative building were damaged, and some were tossed or rolled as much as 50-100 yards - a few badly crumpled due to impacts. There were some objects driven into the ground near the parking lot as well; an emergency manager also observed a screwdriver driven into the bottom of a flipped vehicle. Some concrete curbs along the parking lot were ripped from the ground.
After moving northeast off the prison grounds, the tornado crossed some forested area near the Apalachicola River, clipping areas along the southern tip of River Road and then crossing Highway 20 just west of the Apalachicola River bridge. There were numerous healthy, large trees that were snapped in the damage path, as well as some power poles. This portion of the damage path was rated EF1 with maximum winds of around 100 MPH. This tornado continued into Liberty county and eventually ended in Gadsden county.
Monetary damage for this tornado was estimated at around $2 million. Structural damage to the prison was estimated at around $1.8 million, but the $1.8 million figure did not include fencing, lighting, or vehicle damage that also occurred.
This is a continuation of the Calhoun County tornado. The tornado then moved through northwest Liberty County. We were able to determine it was a continuous damage path as there was damage noted along all of the major roadways that intersected the radar rotation track. The damage in Liberty County was limited to primarily trees, and this segment of the damage path was rated EF0 with maximum winds of 70-80 MPH. Measurements of the width of the damage path on several roads in Liberty County indicates that the tornado may have been at its widest at this point, though, with a maximum path width of around 420 yards. This tornado then continued in Gadsden county.
This is a continuation of the tornado from Calhoun and Liberty counties. The last portion of the damage path was in southwest Gadsden County where the tornado briefly intensified and the damage path narrowed. Another corridor of more significant tree damage was noted near Sycamore Road and Winding Creek Road. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and several power poles were snapped. A few homes in this area had some minor damage to the exterior of the structure. Damage in this area was rated EF1. The damage path quickly narrowed thereafter, and the damage became more sporadic, with the last damaged noted along Flat Creek Road just east of Audie Clark Road.
With a total damage path length of 22.3 miles, this was the longest tornado path in the NWS Tallahassee County Warning Area (CWA) since March 1, 2007 (two tornadoes with about a 30mi path length in SE Alabama and SW Georgia during that event).
This is also the longest tornado path in the state of Florida since a February 1, 2007 tornado in Lake and Volusia Counties in central Florida (26 miles).
Three mobile homes were damaged by a brief EF0 tornado near Grand Ridge. Monetary damage was estimated.
Trees were blown down near the intersection of Highway 79 and 280.
A tree was blown down on Avery Street.
Trees and power lines were blown down on Kent Road.
Minor damage to a building occurred in Marianna due to strong winds.
A tree was blown down and blocked Winona Street at Beulah Avenue.
Numerous trees were blown down on Bisbee Loop.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2014Warnings in Florida, November 2014
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 547715, 547730, 547725, 547726, 547728, 547716, 547731, 547732, 547733, 547734, 547735, 547729.