Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

October 27, 1997Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 27, 1997, 9:15 AM EST for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 45 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 27, 1997, 9:15 AM EST (14:15 UTC)
Expired
Oct 27, 1997, 10:00 AM EST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, FL

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 2.3 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2501 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2501 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.3
Supercell composite
8.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KTBW 271419 RRA
TORTBW
FLC105-271500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
915 AM EST MON OCT 27 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 AM EST FOR

...NORTHERN POLK COUNTY

AT 915 AM EST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
TORNADO IN NORTHEAST HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY ALONG US HWY 301. THE MOVEMENT
WAS TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH...AND WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN POLK
COUNTY SHORTLY.

IF YOU ARE AT HOME AND IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE
IS IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET OR SMALL BATHROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. LAY IN A BATHTUB...COVER YOUR BODY WITH A MATTRESS...
PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS. THOSE IN MOBILE HOMES SHOULD MOVE TO A STRONG
BUILDING. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS AND NO BUILDINGS ARE AVAILABLE...LAY
IN A DITCH OR CULVERT TO AVOID FLYING DEBRIS BUT BEWARE OF RISING
WATER.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 26, 10:02 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLevy88 min
Oct 27, 7:08 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco, Pinellas62 min
Oct 27, 8:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPinellas51 min
Oct 27, 8:34 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWPinellas26 min
Oct 27, 8:46 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Pasco44 min
Oct 27, 8:46 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee44 min
Oct 27, 9:00 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough30 min
Oct 27, 10:01 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk29 min
Oct 27, 10:27 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Manatee48 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.