Tornado Outbreak in the middle and upper Florida Keys associated with Tropical Storm Mitch

A tornado outbreak occurred in the middle and upper Keys of south Florida between the hours of 4 and 8 pm on the evening of November 4th 1998. This outbreak was produced by Tropical Storm Mitch that moved from the Gulf of Mexico, across south central Florida and northeast into the Atlantic ocean. Mitch was a so-called "hybrid" system, having both extratropical and tropical characteristics. Mitch had a warm core like a tropical system but a very distinct warm front existed off the southeast Florida coast. The track of this storm resulted in an environment conducive to the development of supercell thunderstorms over southeast Florida along and south of the warm front. Strong vertical wind shear and moderate instability existed with this event. At least 7 confirmed tornadoes produced extensive damage but fortunately no one was killed thanks to the combined efforts of the Miami National Weather Service Office in Miami, the Monroe County EOC and the local South Florida media. In addition, the people in the middle and upper Keys received a minimum of 20 minutes lead time between the first tornado issuance and the first touchdown. This presentation takes a look at some model and rawinsonde data and a time sequence of WSR-88D velocity products paired with warning products that were issued.