Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 16, 1998Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 1998, 3:11 PM EST for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 49 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
Feb 16, 1998, 3:11 PM EST (20:11 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1998, 4:00 PM EST
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, FL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Feb 16, 3:20 PM ESTThunderstorm WindHaines City, FLThunderstorm winds downed several power lines in the Haines City and Davenport areas.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 16, 1:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 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 1998-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 368 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 1998-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 456 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
368 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
456 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
609 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Feb 16, 9:35 AM EST, 5 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 9:35 AM EST, 5 hours 36 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL
935 AM EST MON FEB 16 1998

STG CONVECTION OVR ERN GULF ASSOCIATED WITH UPR LVL DIVERGENCE...
INSTABILIITY...AND INCREASING MSTR. ACTIVITY OVR THE WRN GULF
ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPROACHING UPR JET. THIS JET WL MOVE EWD
ACRS THE GULF AND TRIGGER ADDITIONAL CONVECTION ACRS THE CNTRL
AND ERN GULF THIS AFTN AND EVENING WHICH WL EVENTUALLY AFFECT THE
FA. SINCE UPR JET WL LIKELY GENERATE A SFC LOW SOUTH OF THE CURRENT
ONE...THE GULF WATERS WL BE MONITORED FOR GALE WARNING POTENTIAL.
COASTAL AND RAIN INDUCED FLOODING POTENTIAL AND WIND ADVISORY CONDITIONS
REMAIN. NO CHNGS ANTICIPATED EXCEPT WHEN ADJUSTING/REMOVING TORNADO
WATCH.

11

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 7:05 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLee80 min
Feb 15, 7:18 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWLee37 min
Feb 16, 9:29 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWCitrus31 min
Feb 16, 11:28 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWPinellas32 min
Feb 16, 1:12 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough48 min
Feb 16, 1:18 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee47 min
Feb 16, 1:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough48 min
Feb 16, 2:25 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk50 min
Feb 16, 2:38 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk32 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.