Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 15, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

March 30, 1996Pasco County, Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 30, 1996, 2:30 PM EST for Pasco County, Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 45 min. 9 reports 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
Mar 30, 1996, 2:30 PM EST (19:30 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 1996, 3:15 PM EST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pasco County, FL, Polk County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:30 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 30, 2:40 PM ESTThunderstorm WindLakeland, FL
Mar 30, 2:45 PM ESTHail 0.75Zephyrhills, FL
Mar 30, 2:45 PM ESTHail 2.75Mulberry, FL
Mar 30, 2:45 PM ESTThunderstorm WindMulberry, FL
Mar 30, 2:50 PM ESTHail 1.75Bartow, FL
Mar 30, 2:50 PM ESTHail 1.75Lakeland, FL
Mar 30, 3:15 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 75Bartow, FL
Mar 30, 3:15 PM ESTHail 2.75Bartow, FL
Mar 30, 3:25 PM ESTHail 1.25Bartow, FL

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.

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 57 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 1996-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1385 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 1996-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -20 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
1385 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
813 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 30, 9:33 AM EST, 4 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 9:33 AM EST, 4 hours 57 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 30, 11:35 AM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-504-505-301900-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
1135 AM EST SAT MAR 30 1996

...SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA...

THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE ARE WARM AND UNSTABLE...WHILE COLD
AIR ALOFT COMBINED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING ACROSS THE
SOUTHEASTERN U.S. ALL ADD UP TO SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
SOME MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH HAIL...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS.

THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF THIS MORNING WILL AFFECT AREAS
MAINLY NORTH OF A BROOKSVILLE TO ORLANDO LINE THIS AFTERNOON WITH WIDESPREAD
RAINFALL AND EMBEDDED STRONGER STORMS. FROM THE TAMPA AREA SOUTH TO FORT
MYERS...DAYTIME HEATING WILL RESULT IN THE FORMATION OF A SEA BREEZE. THIS
SEA BREEZE WILL BE A FOCUS FOR ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON. THESE STORMS WILL THEN PUSH EAST...AFFECTING INLAND
COUNTIES LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS
MAY ALSO APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE LARGE HAIL
AND STRONG WIND GUSTS OVER 40 MPH. ALL THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.

PERSONS ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD REMAIN ON THE LOOKOUT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER AND MOVE INDOORS AS THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH. BOATERS SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO RETURN TO PORT AS THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE GULF APPROACH
THE COAST.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTERS ACROSS THE REGION ARE ASKED TO
RELAY ANY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN RUSKIN.

NASH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 1:49 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough41 min
Mar 30, 3:15 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk45 min
Mar 30, 3:25 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk50 min
Mar 30, 3:52 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk53 min
Mar 30, 3:58 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHernando47 min
Mar 30, 4:17 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHernando43 min
Mar 30, 4:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLevy38 min
Mar 30, 4:40 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWSumter50 min
Mar 30, 4:49 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCitrus56 min
Mar 30, 4:58 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWSumter47 min
Mar 30, 5:48 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHernando, Sumter42 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.