Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

December 10, 1992Hillsborough County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Dec 10, 1992, 7:09 AM EST for Hillsborough County, Florida. It was in force for 21 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 10, 1992, 7:09 AM EST (12:09 UTC)
Expired
Dec 10, 1992, 7:30 AM EST
In force
21 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Hillsborough County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 23 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 1992-12-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 192 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1992-12-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 341 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
192 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-87 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
807 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
341 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
325 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KTBW 101210
TORTBW
FLC057-101230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
709 AM EST THU DEC 10 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE......
 
IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
INCLUDING THE BAY AND INLAND WATERS
 
 
 
A WATERSPOUT WAS REPORTED OVER OLD TAMPA BAY MOVING EAST TOWARDS THE
INTERBAY PENINSULA.
 
MARINE INTERESTS IN THESE WATERS SHOULD AVOID THESE STORMS AND
SEEK SAFE HARBOR.
 
RESIDENTS OF SOUTH TAMPA AND MOTORISTS TRAVELING ACROSS THE BRIDGES
ARE URGED TO BE ON THE ALERT.
 
IF YOU ARE
 IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO MOVE TO A REINFORCED SHELTER
TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE OPEN...GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
 
 
&

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 10, 1:29 AM EST, 5 hours 40 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-100740-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
125 AM EDT THU DEC 10 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 600 AM EST...

AT 125 AM A 35 MILE WIDE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WERE DETECTED FROM 30 MILES
EAST OF APALACHICOLA TO 100 MILES SOUTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA.

MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTH AND EAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS AND MARINERS IN NORTHWEST PENINSULAR FLORIDA AND IN THE NORTHEAST
GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS
LATER TONIGHT...AND PREPARE TO SEEK SHELTER OR SAFE HARBOR IF NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Dec 10, 2:30 AM EST, 4 hours 39 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-100840-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
230 AM EDT THU DEC 10 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 600 AM EST...

A 70 MILES WIDE AREA OF RAIN... WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED FROM 30 MILES WEST OF CROSS CITY TO APALACHICOLA... AND SOUTHWEST
INTO THE GULF 150 MILES.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS AND MARINERS IN NORTHWEST PENINSULAR FLORIDA AND IN THE NORTHEAST
GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS
LATER TONIGHT...AND PREPARE TO SEEK SHELTER OR SAFE HARBOR IF NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Dec 10, 3:33 AM EST, 3 hours 36 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-100940-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
335 AM EDT THU DEC 10 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 600 AM EST...

A 70 MILES WIDE AREA OF RAIN... WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED FROM CEDAR KEY NORTH INTO APALACHEE BAY... AND SOUTHWEST
INTO THE GULF 170 MILES.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS AND MARINERS IN THE NORTHWEST PENINSULA... AND IN THE NORTHEAST
GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS
LATER TONIGHT...AND PREPARE TO SEEK SHELTER OR SAFE HARBOR IF NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Dec 10, 4:37 AM EST, 2 hours 32 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-101040-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT... MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
435 AM EDT THU DEC 10 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 600 AM EST...

A 75 MILES WIDE AREA OF RAIN... WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
... A FEW CONTAINING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE STRONG
GUSTY WINDS EXTENDED FROM CRYSTAL RIVER NORTH INTO APALACHEE BAY... AND
SOUTHWEST INTO THE GULF TO BETWEEN 110 AND 150 MILES OFFSHORE OF SARASOTA.

MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS AND MARINERS ALONG THE WEST COAST SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR
PERIODS OF VER|Y HEAVY RAIN... FREQUENT LIGHTNING... ROUGH SHIFTING SEAS
... GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE WATERSPOUTS AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE INTO
THE COASTAL WATERS AND ON SHORE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 10, 5:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCitrus, Hernando2 hr
Dec 10, 5:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco2 hr
Dec 10, 6:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee66 min
Dec 10, 6:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPinellas66 min
Dec 10, 9:16 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands119 min
Dec 10, 10:06 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLee69 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

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.