Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

April 26, 1994Charlotte County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 26, 1994, 6:06 PM EDT for Charlotte County, Florida. It was in force for 39 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 26, 1994, 6:06 PM EDT (22:06 UTC)
Expired
Apr 26, 1994, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Charlotte County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 100 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 1994-04-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 508 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 1994-04-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -4 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
508 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-56 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
768 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 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 262206
TORTBW
FLC015-262245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
606 PM EDT TUE APR 26 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE......
 
IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...WESTERN CHARLOTTE COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
 
AT 6 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED AT THE PEACE RIVER BETWEEN PUNTA GORDA
AND PORT CHARLOTTE.
 
MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHWEST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU SEE A TORNADO... WATERSPOUT... HAIL OR DAMAGING WIND...
CALL YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF OFFICE AND ASK THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
 
 
 
&

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, Apr 26, 5:26 PM EDT, 40 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-504-505-262230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT...AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
530 PM EDT TUE APR 26 1994

... STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FORMING OVER WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...

AT 530 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE
SEABREEZE FROM CITRUS COUNTY SOUTH TO COLLIER COUNTY. OTHER STRONG STORMS
WERE MORE INLAND FROM ZEPHYRHILLS EAST INTO SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY.

MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHWEST AROUND 10 MILES AN HOUR.

FURTHER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 1 TO 3 HOURS
OVER THE WEST COAST INCLUDING THE TAMPA BAY AREA.

MARINERS AND RESIDENTS ALONG WEST FLORIDA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT OVER
THE NEXT ONE TO THREE HOURS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE HAIL...
STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLE
FUNNEL CLOUDS OR WATERSPOUTS IN THE BAY AND COASTAL WATERS.|

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 26, 5:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCharlotte41 min
Apr 26, 5:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough65 min
Apr 26, 6:16 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough44 min
Apr 26, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLevy47 min
Apr 26, 6:38 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWLee37 min
Apr 26, 6:45 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough45 min
Apr 26, 7:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota65 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.