Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 28, 1997, 2:55 PM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 50 min. 4 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 28, 1997, 2:55 PM EDT (18:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 28, 1997, 3:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:57 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 28, 2:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Waverly, FL | Thunderstorm wind downed two power poles on Waverly Road in Waverly. |
| May 28, 3:00 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Lake Wales, FL | Dime sized hail was reported by a Skywarn Spotter along U.S. Highway 27. |
| May 28, 3:03 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 56 | Lake Wales, FL | A Skywarn Spotter measured a wind gust of 64 mph and reported trees and power lines downed near Cypress Gardens. |
| May 28, 3:06 PM EDT | Tornado F0 | Lake Wales, FL | A short-lived tornado touched down and shredded a 14-by-42 foot aluminum and screen enclosure of a home along U.S. Highway 27. The enclosure was tossed over the home and the remains scattered over an area 150 yards downstream from the damage site. |
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, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 74 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
- 458 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -113 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 849 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 2 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
497 WUUS1 KTBW 281858 RRA SVRTBW FLC105-281945- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 255 PM EDT WED MAY 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 345 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION(S) IN CENTRAL FLORIDA ...EASTERN POLK COUNTY AT 254 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR 7 MILES EAST OF WINTER HAVEN MOVING SOUTH ALONG U.S. 27 CORRIDOR AT 25 MPH. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... WINTER HAVEN AROUND 300 PM EDT LAKE WALES AROUND 320 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. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN REQUESTS THAT SKYWARN UNITS IN THE COUNTY BE ACTIVATED AND FORWARD ALL SIGNIFICANT WEATHER REPORTS TO OUR OFFICE. ZALESKI
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 28, 2:55 PM EDT, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 2:55 PM EDT, 0 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 255 PM EDT WED MAY 28 1997 WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINS STATIONARY ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA AND IS FOCUS FOR CURRENT CONVECTION. HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE EAST COAST OF THE U.S. IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTHEAST FLOW AND PUSHING FRONT SOUTH INTO CENTRAL FLORIDA. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOPED AROUND NOON CONTINUE TO PUSH SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA. U/L PROFILE IS WEAK AND BOUNDARY COLLISIONS WILL ALLOW FOR A FEW PULSE SEVERE CELLS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. MOST UNSTABLE AIR IS OVER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WHERE TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE LOWER 90S AND A WEAK SEABREEZE HAS DEVELOPED. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO INTENSIFY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WITH BEST CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER FROM CENTRAL POLK COUNTY TO FT MYERS. OGLESBY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 28, 11:45 AM EDT, 3 hours 10 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-504-505-282000- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 1145 AM EDT WED MAY 28 1997 ...A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS THE CENTRAL FLORIDA PENINSULA AND A DEVELOPING AFTERNOON SEABREEZE WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS UNSTABLE AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON FROM CRYSTAL RIVER TO TITUSVILLE AND WILL SPREAD SOUTH ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. DAYTIME HEATING WILL INCREASE INSTABILITY...AND NUMEROUS BOUNDARY COLLISIONS DUE TO THE SEABREEZE...THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...AND OUTFLOWS FROM THUNDERSTORMS...WILL CAUSE A FEW STORMS TO APPROACH SEVERE LEVELS. TODAYS STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS OF UP TO 50 MPH...AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. RESIDENTS...ESPECIALLY MARINERS...SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND STORM SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT ANY ADVERSE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN RUSKIN FLORIDA. STAY TUNED TO RADIO...NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TELEVISION...AND/OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. OGLESBY
Special weather statement, May 28, 11:52 AM EDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-504-505-282000- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 1145 AM EDT WED MAY 28 1997 ...A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS THE CENTRAL FLORIDA PENINSULA AND A DEVELOPING AFTERNOON SEABREEZE WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS UNSTABLE AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON FROM CRYSTAL RIVER TO TITUSVILLE AND WILL SPREAD SOUTH ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. DAYTIME HEATING WILL INCREASE INSTABILITY...AND NUMEROUS BOUNDARY COLLISIONS DUE TO THE SEABREEZE...THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...AND OUTFLOWS FROM THUNDERSTORMS...WILL CAUSE A FEW STORMS TO APPROACH SEVERE LEVELS. TODAYS STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS OF UP TO 50 MPH...AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. RESIDENTS...ESPECIALLY MARINERS...SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND STORM SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT ANY ADVERSE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN RUSKIN FLORIDA. STAY TUNED TO RADIO...NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TELEVISION...AND/OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. OGLESBY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 8:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 48 min |
| May 28, 3:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 30 min |
| May 28, 3:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 41 min |
| May 28, 4:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pasco | 32 min |
| May 28, 4:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 28 min |
| May 28, 4:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pinellas | 43 min |
| May 28, 4:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Sarasota | 50 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.