Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

July 16, 1996Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Jul 16, 1996, 5:27 PM EDT for Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 33 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 16, 1996, 5:27 PM EDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 1996, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Pinellas County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 16, 5:45 PM EDTHail 0.75St Petersburg, 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, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 40 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 1996-07-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1178 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 1996-07-16The 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
1178 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
770 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-25 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 162129
TORTBW
FLC103-162200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
527 PM EDT TUE JUL 16 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
 
   ...PINELLAS COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST
 
AT 525 PM EDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR
U.S. 19 AND HIGHWAY 60. RADAR ALSO INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS FROM NEAR OLDSMAR TO 5 MILES WEST OF INDIAN ROCKS
BEACH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.
 
THE TORNADO WAS MOVING WEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO MOVE TO A REINFORCED SHELTER
OR 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.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN REQUESTS THAT SKYWARN
UNITS IN THE COUNTY BE ACTIVATED AND FORWARD ALL SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER REPORTS TO OUR OFFpICE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 4:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough41 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.