Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 102, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 5, 1998, 11:27 AM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 48 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
- May 5, 1998, 11:27 AM EDT (15:27 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 1998, 12:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:28 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 11:40 AM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Haines City, FL |
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, 3.5 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
- 1588 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -24 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 808 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 157 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.6
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 5, 10:10 AM EDT, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 5, 10:10 AM EDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 1010 AM EDT TUE MAY 5 1998 WEATHER GOING DOWN HILL FASTER THAN YESTERDAY. HAVE ALREADY AMENDED ZONES TO REMOVE AFTN WORDING SINCE STORMS ALREADY ACTIVE. ATMOS AGAIN VERY UNSTABLE WITH LI OF -8 AND CAPES OVER 2500 LOOKING ON LATEST SFC AND SAT DATA...WK CLD BNDRY AND SFC TD GRADIENT COINCIDE OVER NCENT FA FM ABT DAB TO CITRUS CO. THUS...CHC OF STORMS STILL EXISTS SOUTH OF THIS AREA. BEST CHC WILL BE CENT AND S FA WHERE INSTABILITY IS GREATEST. ALREADY GETTING DIME-SIZED AND LARGER HAIL THIS MORNING FM STORMS OVER PINELLAS AND MANATEE COUNTIES. THANKS MLB FOR COORD. SINCE STORMS ALREADY IN PROGRESS...WILL NOT BOTHER UPDATING HWO. MORALES
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:45 AM EDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-051530- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 545 AM EDT TUE MAY 5 1998 ...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA... DAYTIME HEATING WITHIN A WARM AND MARGINALLY MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE PENINSULA WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THE GENERATION OF WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE MORE FAVORABLE AREA FOR DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL TO BARTOW TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR. ONLY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NORTHWARD TO WILDWOOD AND BROOKSVILLE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH...TO THE FLORIDA EAST COAST MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...THEN INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THOSE THAT OCCURRED MONDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF GENERATING GUSTY WINDS...LOCAL DOWNPOURS...POSSIBLE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. ALL PERSONS...PARTICULARLY THOSE IN INTERIOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA... SHOULD BE ALERT TO LOCAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BEGINNING AROUND NOON TODAY INTO THIS AFTERNOON. RITTENBERRY
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:45 AM EDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-051530- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 545 AM EDT TUE MAY 5 1998 ...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA... DAYTIME HEATING WITHIN A WARM AND MARGINALLY MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE PENINSULA WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THE GENERATION OF WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE MORE FAVORABLE AREA FOR DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL TO BARTOW TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR. ONLY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NORTHWARD TO WILDWOOD AND BROOKSVILLE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH...TO THE FLORIDA EAST COAST MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...THEN INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THOSE THAT OCCURRED MONDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF GENERATING GUSTY WINDS...LOCAL DOWNPOURS...POSSIBLE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. ALL PERSONS...PARTICULARLY THOSE IN INTERIOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA... SHOULD BE ALERT TO LOCAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BEGINNING AROUND NOON TODAY INTO THIS AFTERNOON. RITTENBERRY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 9:43 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 47 min |
| May 5, 10:31 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 49 min |
| May 5, 10:39 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 46 min |
| May 5, 12:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 49 min |
| May 5, 2:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee, Sarasota | 50 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998
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.