Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 5, 1992Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 5, 1992, 4:31 PM EST for Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 44 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 5, 1992, 4:31 PM EST (21:31 UTC)
Expired
Feb 5, 1992, 5:15 PM EST
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Hillsborough County, FL, Pinellas County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 26 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 1992-02-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 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 1992-02-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -286 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
712 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-286 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-268 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTBW 052135
TORTBW
FLC057-103-052215-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
431 PM EST WED FEB 5 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  515 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...NORTHERN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY...CENTRAL PINELLAS COUNTY
 
  AND FOR THE COASTAL WATERS FROM...
 
   ...HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY  TO  PINELLAS COUNTY
 
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED TO HAVE TOUCHED DOWN NEAR GULFPORT BUT LIFTED
BACK INTO THE CLOUD. REPORTS OF HAIL THE SIZE OF NICKELS HAS ALSO
BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.
 
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN TAMPA BAY
AND INTO TAMPA DURING THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
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.
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET
INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
MARINE INTERESTS IN THESE WATERS SHOULD AVOID THESE STORMS AND
SEEK SAFE HARBOR.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!
 
IF YOU SEE A TORNADO... WATERSPOUT... HAIL OR DAMAGING W4IND...
CALL THE WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SEVERE WEATHER LINE AT
1-800-282-5584.

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, Feb 5, 10:34 AM EST, 5 hours 57 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-051630-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
930 AM EST WED FEB 5 1992

      ...THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR LEE...COLLIER...
      GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES BUT REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE
      REMAINDER OF SOUTH FLORIDA UNTIL 1 PM...

A LARGE MASS OF RAIN...SOME HEAVY...WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS COVERED THE EASTERN HALF OF THE PENINSULA FROM SILVER
SPRINGS...SOUTH TO LAKE PLACID...TO LAKEPORT AND DOWN THE CENTER OF
THE EVERGLADES.  THE RAIN EXTENDED WELL OUT OVER THE ATLANTIC BETWEEN
DAYTONA BEACH AND MIAMI.

A PATCH OF SHOWERS AND RAIN WAS OVER THE GULF ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST
BETWEEN BONITA SPRINGS AND CAPE SABLE.

MOVEMENT WAS RAPIDLY NORTHEAST AT 45 TO 55 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Feb 5, 10:39 AM EST, 5 hours 52 minutes before
FLZ006-008>021-051630-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
1030 AM EST WED FEB 5 1992

      ...THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR LEE...COLLIER...
      GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES BUT REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE
      REMAINDER OF SOUTH FLORIDA UNTIL 1 PM...

A LARGE MASS OF RAIN...SOME HEAVY...WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS COVERED THE EASTERN HALF OF THE PENINSULA FROM SILVER
SPRINGS...SOUTH TO LAKE PLACID...TO LAKEPORT AND DOWN THE CENTER OF
THE EVERGLADES.  THE RAIN EXTENDED WELL OUT OVER THE ATLANTIC BETWEEN
DAYTONA BEACH AND MIAMI.

A PATCH OF SHOWERS AND RAIN WAS OVER THE GULF ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST
BETWEEN BONITA SPRINGS AND CAPE SABLE.

MOVEMENT WAS RAPIDLY NORTHEAST AT 45 TO 55 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 5, 3:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Manatee2 hr
Feb 5, 3:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco, Pinellas2 hr
Feb 5, 3:33 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCitrus, Hernando, Levy, Sumter117 min
Feb 5, 4:05 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWManatee40 min
Feb 5, 4:05 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWPinellas40 min
Feb 5, 4:52 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWSarasota53 min
Feb 5, 5:16 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWDeSoto, Hardee, Polk59 min
Feb 5, 5:16 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWSumter59 min
Feb 5, 4:55 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco50 min
Feb 5, 5:01 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota44 min
Feb 5, 5:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco, Pinellas61 min
Feb 5, 5:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota61 min
Feb 5, 5:49 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHardee41 min
Feb 5, 6:15 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota45 min
Feb 5, 6:15 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco45 min
Feb 5, 6:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands, Polk61 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.