Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

June 24, 1997Hillsborough County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Jun 24, 1997, 4:35 PM EDT for Hillsborough County, Florida. It was in force for 35 min. 2 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
Jun 24, 1997, 4:35 PM EDT (20:35 UTC)
Expired
Jun 24, 1997, 5:10 PM EDT
In force
35 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 20:38 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 24, 4:45 PM EDTThunderstorm WindTampa, FLThunderstorm winds downed a few large trees which damaged a home in Ruskin.
Jun 24, 4:55 PM EDTThunderstorm WindTampa, FLNumerous reports of large trees downed by thunderstorm winds from Brandon north to Mango.

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, 8.6 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-06-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1382 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-06-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 18 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
1382 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
688 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
35 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.

164 
WFUS1 KTBW 242036 RRA
TORTBW
FLC057-FLZ504-242110-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
435 PM EDT TUE JUN 24 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM EDT

FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION(S)

IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA

   ...HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY


FOR MARINERS ON TAMPA BAY FROM
   ...OLD TAMPA BAY TO LOWER TAMPA BAY
 
AT 433 PM EDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 6 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF DOWNTOWN TAMPA MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
DOWNTOWN TAMPA           AROUND 446 PM EDT
TEMPLE TERRACE           AROUND 501 PM EDT

A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED NEAR THE GROUND IN APOLLO BEACH AT 433
PM.
 
FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED BY THE PUBLIC. THERE HAS NOT BEEN A
CONFIRMED TORNADO YET BUT CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR TORNADO
DEVELOPMENT. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING NOW PROTECT YOURSELF...AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 24, 3:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCharlotte35 min
Jun 24, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco61 min
Jun 24, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPinellas47 min
Jun 24, 5:33 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningTBWPasco, Pinellas2 hr

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.