Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 23, 1997, 8:08 AM EDT for Levy County, Florida. It was in force for 52 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
- Apr 23, 1997, 8:08 AM EDT (12:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 23, 1997, 9:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Levy County, FL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 8:10 AM EDT | Tornado F0 | Chiefland, FL | A short-lived tornado touched down near the intersection of State Road 320 and Willow Sink Road. The tornado snapped several large trees, damaged a couple of mobile homes and twisted a few roof top television antennas before it receded and dissipated. |
| Apr 23, 8:10 AM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland, FL | Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines across western portions of Levy county. |
| Apr 23, 8:45 AM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Bronson, FL | Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees throughout Bronson. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 8:00 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 712 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -215 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -74 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
654 WFUS1 KTBW 231214 RRA TORTBW FLC075-231300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 808 AM EDT WED APR 23 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA ...LEVY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY LEVY COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER NEAR CHEIFLAND. THE TORNADO IS MOVING EAST AT 40 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. 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 23, 8:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hernando, Pasco | 65 min |
| Apr 23, 8:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Citrus, Levy | 65 min |
| Apr 23, 9:30 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hernando | 45 min |
| Apr 23, 9:34 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Citrus | 41 min |
| Apr 23, 9:50 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Sumter | 40 min |
| Apr 23, 9:57 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pasco | 63 min |
| Apr 23, 10:10 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hernando | 65 min |
| Apr 23, 10:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Sumter | 62 min |
| Apr 23, 10:59 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pasco, Pinellas | 61 min |
| Apr 23, 11:03 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Pasco, Pinellas | 42 min |
| Apr 23, 11:23 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 67 min |
| Apr 23, 11:35 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 40 min |
| Apr 23, 11:59 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 61 min |
| Apr 23, 12:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pinellas | 56 min |
| Apr 23, 12:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 49 min |
| Apr 23, 12:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 57 min |
| Apr 23, 12:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 61 min |
| Apr 23, 1:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 55 min |
| Apr 23, 2:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hardee | 55 min |
| Apr 23, 2:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 53 min |
| Apr 23, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Highlands | 60 min |
| Apr 23, 2:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Sarasota | 42 min |
| Apr 23, 3:12 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee, Sarasota | 63 min |
| Apr 23, 3:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands | 60 min |
| Apr 23, 4:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Charlotte, Sarasota | 64 min |
| Apr 23, 4:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | DeSoto, Highlands | 68 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.