Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 42, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

October 31, 1997Manatee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 31, 1997, 12:48 PM EST for Manatee County, Florida. It was in force for 47 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
Oct 31, 1997, 12:48 PM EST (17:48 UTC)
Expired
Oct 31, 1997, 1:35 PM EST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Manatee County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 31, 12:58 PM ESTTornado F0Bradenton, FLA tornado briefly touched down and toppled trees and power lines near 59th Street and Cortez Blvd. before it lifted and dissipated.
Oct 31, 1:17 PM ESTTornado F0Bradenton, FLA tornado touched down and severely damaged a pool cage, barn roof and downed several oak trees near State Road 64 and Upper Manatee River Road.

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, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 26 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 1997-10-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1009 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 1997-10-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 146 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
1009 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
146 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

122 
WFUS1 KTBW 311750 RRA
TORTBW
FLC081-FLZ504-311835-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1248 PM EST FRI OCT 31 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 135 PM EST FOR

...WESTERN MANATEE COUNTY


AT 1245 PM EST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN RUSKIN
INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTH OF BRADENTON. THE TORNADO
WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST 25 MPH.


FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED BY THE PUBLIC. CONDITIONS WILL
REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR ADDITIONAL 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
Oct 31, 11:36 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota29 min
Oct 31, 12:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota51 min
Oct 31, 1:56 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough29 min
Oct 31, 2:09 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk46 min
Oct 31, 2:50 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk45 min
Oct 31, 3:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas61 min
Oct 31, 3:44 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk31 min
Oct 31, 4:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough45 min
Oct 31, 4:40 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPinellas50 min
Oct 31, 5:31 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk49 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.