Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 17, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1997, 12:20 PM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 40 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
- Apr 28, 1997, 12:20 PM EDT (16:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 1997, 1:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, FL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 12:40 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Lakeland, FL | Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees and numerous large branches around the Lake Morton area in Lakeland. |
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, 4.3 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
- 1286 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 576 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 209 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 217 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.8
- Supercell composite
- 8.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
908 WFUS1 KTBW 281623 RRA TORTBW FLC105-281700- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 1220 PM EDT MON APR 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL FLORIDA ...WESTERN POLK COUNTY DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST POLK COUNTY. THE STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL CROSS NEAR BREWSTER AND BRADLEY JUNCTION. PERSONS IN THE BARTOW AREA NEED TO MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. 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 OFFICE.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 11:42 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 48 min |
| Apr 28, 11:50 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 25 min |
| Apr 28, 12:11 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Pasco | 34 min |
| Apr 28, 1:02 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hardee, Polk | 43 min |
| Apr 28, 1:15 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | DeSoto, Hardee | 45 min |
| Apr 28, 1:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Charlotte, Lee | 53 min |
| Apr 28, 1:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Highlands | 66 min |
| Apr 28, 1:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 59 min |
| Apr 28, 2:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Lee | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.