Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

July 11, 1994Pasco County, Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 11, 1994, 8:26 PM EDT for Pasco County, Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 34 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 11, 1994, 8:26 PM EDT (00:26 UTC)
Expired
Jul 11, 1994, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 11, 8:30 PM EDTTornado F0Crystal Beach, FLSKYWARN observer reported a brief tornado touched down in Crystal Beach blowing down a palm tree.

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 48 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 00:00Z on 1994-07-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 138 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 00:00Z on 1994-07-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
138 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-189 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-40 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 120026
TORTBW
FLC101-103-120100-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
826 PM EDT MON JUL 11 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE...S...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...SOUTHERN PASCO COUNTY...NORTHERN PINELLAS COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 820 PM RADAR INDICATES A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR TARPON SPRINGS.
POSSIBLE TORNADOES HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED IN THE NEW PORT RICHEY AREA.
MOVEMENT IS TO THE NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.
 
 
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, Jul 11, 3:10 PM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before
FLZ065-112015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
310 PM EDT MON JUL 11 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN LEE COUNTY...

AT 305 PM RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF FORT
MYERS. THE STORM WAS MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

THIS STORM MAY CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...VERY
HEAVY RAIN...AND SMALL HAIL. RESIDENTS IN LEE COUNTY SHOULD KEEP AN EYE
ON THE SKY AND SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, Jul 11, 3:10 PM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before
FLZ065-112015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
310 PM EDT MON JUL 11 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN LEE COUNTY...

AT 305 PM RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF FORT
MYERS. THE STORM WAS MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

THIS STORM MAY CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...VERY
HEAVY RAIN...AND SMALL HAIL. RESIDENTS IN LEE COUNTY SHOULD KEEP AN EYE
ON THE SKY AND SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 11, 8:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco57 min
Jul 11, 8:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHernando57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.