Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 26, 1994, 6:16 PM EDT for Hillsborough County, Florida. It was in force for 44 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 26, 1994, 6:16 PM EDT (22:16 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 26, 1994, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 44 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, 10.3 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KTBW 262216 TORTBW FLC057-262300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 616 PM EDT TUE APR 26 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE...... IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA ...HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST AT 610 PM...A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED IN NEAR PALM RIVER ROAD AND US 41...NEAR MCKAY BAY MOVING SOUTHWEST OVER HILLSBOROUGH BAY...AND MAY SHORTLY APPROACH THE INTERBAY PENINSULA. IN ADDITION...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED OVER DOWNTOWN TAMPA. 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, Apr 26, 5:26 PM EDT, 50 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 5:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Charlotte | 41 min |
| Apr 26, 5:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 65 min |
| Apr 26, 6:06 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Charlotte | 39 min |
| Apr 26, 6:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Levy | 47 min |
| Apr 26, 6:38 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Lee | 37 min |
| Apr 26, 6:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 45 min |
| Apr 26, 7:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee, Sarasota | 65 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.