Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 23, 1997, 5:15 PM EDT for Hillsborough County, Florida. It was in force for 60 min. 3 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
- May 23, 1997, 5:15 PM EDT (21:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 23, 1997, 6:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Hillsborough County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 23 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:15 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 5:35 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Tampa, FL | Quarter to golfball sized hail was reported by Skywarn Spotters in Thonotosassa. |
| May 23, 5:38 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Tampa, FL | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and powerlines in Thonotosassa. One downed tree caused major damage to a restaurant in Thonotosassa. |
| May 23, 6:06 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Tampa, FL | Skywarn Spotters reported dime sized hail. |
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, 9.3 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
- 1078 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 718 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 54 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 99 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 1.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
236 WUUS1 KTBW 232117 RRA SVRTBW FLC057-232215- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 515 PM EDT FRI MAY 23 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 615 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION(S) IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA ...EASTERN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AT 512 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF TEMPLE TERRACE OR 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF THONOTASASSA MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... THONOTASASSA AROUND 515 PM EDT PLANT CITY AROUND 555 PM EDT BY DEFINITION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER AND/OR DIME SIZE HAIL OR LARGER. IF THIS STORM APPROACHES YOU AREA...GO INDOORS AND STAY THERE UNTIL THE STORM PASSES. NASH
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 May 23, 2:44 PM EDT, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 23, 2:44 PM EDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 241 PM EDT FRI MAY 23 1997 SHOWERS FORMING ALONG WEST EDGE CWA...LEVY....POLK...AND HIGHLANDS AND ALSO NEAR VENICE. SFC...OLD BOUNDARY ACROSS NE FL XPCTD TO WASH OUT AS HI PRESS OVR MID ATLANTIC STATES RDGG SOUTHEAST MAINTAINING E FLOW NEXT 24 HR THEN SE FLOW SAT AFTERNOON. FLOW WEAK ENUF TODAY FOR WEST COAST SEA BRZ NORTH OF SRQ. STRONGER FLOW SAT SHOULD INHIBIT SEA BRZ. ALOFT...5H RDG TO CONT ACROSS FL NEXT 24-36 HR WITH NVA ACROSS REGION TODAY. VORT MAX GOMEX TO WEAKEN AS IT CROSSES RDG TOP TONIGHT BUT MAY KEEP CONVECTION GOING BEYOND SUNSET. ZONE FCST PACKAGE LOOKS OK ATTM. RKR
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 8:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Charlotte, Lee | 49 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997
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.