Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 23, 1998, 8:24 AM EST for Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for . No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 23, 1998, 8:24 AM EST (13:24 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 22, 1998, 4:15 PM EST
- In force
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Pinellas County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:24 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 228 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
- 1021 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 621 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 85 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 3.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
393 WUUS1 KTBW 231325 RRA SVRTBW FLC103-GMZ853-231400- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 824 AM EST FRI JAN 23 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 AM EST FOR ...SOUTHERN PINELLAS COUNTY ...AND INCLUDING THE GULF WATERS FROM ANCLOTE KEY TO THE MOUTH OF TAMPA BAY AT 820 AM EST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN RUSKIN INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST OFFSHORE ST PETE BEACH TO THE MOUTH OF THE TAMPA BAY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES OR MARINE WATERSPOUTS SO ALL SHORELINE RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ON ALERT. BY DEFINITION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER AND/OR DIME SIZE HAIL OR LARGER. IF THIS STORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INDOORS AND STAY UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.
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 Jan 23, 2:30 AM EST, 5 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 2:30 AM EST, 5 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 230 AM EST FRI JAN 23 1998 CURRENT...LDS SHOWING AREA OF FREQUENT-EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING FM 50 MI W OF TPA...TRAILING SW INTO GULF. THIS LINE OF TSTMS SEEMS TO BE GRAD WEAKING AS IT ENTERS INTO COOLER SHELF WATERS. HOWEVER...SW PORTION OF LINE OVR FARTHER W INTO GULF STILL VERY STRONG. 88D PICKING UP LARGE MASS OF RA WITH EMBEDDED TSTMS NOW ABT 25 MILES WEST OF CST. EXPECT RA TO REACH THE COAST ARND 3 AM. FCST...MODELS STILL DIFFER ON DETAILS OF APPROACHING SQUALLINE. NGM TRYS TO WEAKEN N END OF LINE AS IT MOVES EAST...FOCUSING CONVECTION OVR S FA LATER TODAY. ETA GENERALLY KEEPS A CONTINUOUS LINE OF PRECIP MOVING EAST WITH BRUNT OF PRECIP OVR N 1/2 OF FA. GIVEN LATEST TRENDS OF SAT/88D AND LDS...SEEMS NGM MAY BE ON RIGHT TRACK WITH BEST PRECIP AT S END OF LINE. EITHER WAY...LINE OF SHWS/TSTMS REACHES CST BEFORE SUNRISE...MOVING SLOWLY SE INTO S FA BY LATE AFTN TODAY. BEST VEERING/HELICITIES WILL BE THRU 18Z THIS AFTN. MAIN TROF AXIS AT 500 MB REMAINS WEST OF AREA THRU 36 HRS...WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF STRONG VORT ADVECTIONS. THUS CONFIDENCE IN CHC FOR SVR WX STILL LOW TODAY. AREA OF RA MOVING INTO FA EARLY THIS MRNG CUD ALSO HELP KEEP ATMOS MORE STABLE INTO EARLY AFTN...AT LEAST FROM SRQ NORTH. WILL ISSUE 5 AM HWO CONTINUING TO HIT THRET OF STRONG WINDS AND ISOLD SVR TODAY...BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY HVY RAIN POTENTIAL. WILL CONTEMPLATE NEED FOR FFA...ESPEC S 1/2 OF FA WHERE PRECIP CUD LINGER LONGER. WILL COORD WITH MIA IF NECESSARY. ETA AND NGM KEEP MRH VALUES HI THRU 36 HRS...THEN DECR AFT AS SFC FRNT BEGINS TO FINALLY PENETRATE SOUTH. THUS SKIES LIKELY TO REMAIN CLDY THRU TONIGHT WITH RAIN CHCS THRU LATE NIGHT. ON SAT...TURNING COOLER WITH BREEZY NW WINDS. MORALES
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jan 23, 5:40 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-856- 870-873-876-231535- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 540 AM EST FRI JAN 23 1998 ...A CHANCE FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TODAY... ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ALSO POSSIBLE... A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING WILL MOVE EASTWARD...REACHING THE COASTAL COUNTIES NORTH OF SARASOTA BEFORE 7 AM...THEN FARTHER SOUTH INTO THE FORT MYERS AREA BEFORE 8 AM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD FARTHER INLAND BY LATE MORNING. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME STRONG...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LAKELAND TO SARASOTA. THE MAIN THREATS FROM ANY STRONG STORMS TODAY WILL BE WIND GUSTS OF 35 TO 45 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE BETWEEN ONE AND TWO INCHES THROUGH THIS EVENING. THESE AMOUNTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO CAUSE ANY WIDE SPREAD FLOODING PROBLEMS. HOWEVER...ANY AREAS THAT DO RECEIVE HIGHER AMOUNTS MAY ENCOUNTER SOME MINOR FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS. IN ADDITION...RESIDENTS ALONG AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR RISING WATER LEVELS. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. REMEMBER...LIGHTNING MAY STRIKE MILES AWAY FROM THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN EVEN THOUGH THE THUNDERSTORM IS NOT DIRECTLY OVERHEAD. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR RADIO/TELEVISION/CABLE STATIONS IN THE EVENT ANY ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS BECOME NECESSARY. MORALES
Special weather statement, Jan 23, 5:40 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-856- 870-873-876-231535- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 540 AM EST FRI JAN 23 1998 ...A CHANCE FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TODAY... ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ALSO POSSIBLE... A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING WILL MOVE EASTWARD...REACHING THE COASTAL COUNTIES NORTH OF SARASOTA BEFORE 7 AM...THEN FARTHER SOUTH INTO THE FORT MYERS AREA BEFORE 8 AM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD FARTHER INLAND BY LATE MORNING. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME STRONG...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LAKELAND TO SARASOTA. THE MAIN THREATS FROM ANY STRONG STORMS TODAY WILL BE WIND GUSTS OF 35 TO 45 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE BETWEEN ONE AND TWO INCHES THROUGH THIS EVENING. THESE AMOUNTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO CAUSE ANY WIDE SPREAD FLOODING PROBLEMS. HOWEVER...ANY AREAS THAT DO RECEIVE HIGHER AMOUNTS MAY ENCOUNTER SOME MINOR FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS. IN ADDITION...RESIDENTS ALONG AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR RISING WATER LEVELS. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. REMEMBER...LIGHTNING MAY STRIKE MILES AWAY FROM THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN EVEN THOUGH THE THUNDERSTORM IS NOT DIRECTLY OVERHEAD. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR RADIO/TELEVISION/CABLE STATIONS IN THE EVENT ANY ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS BECOME NECESSARY. MORALES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 8:25 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Charlotte, DeSoto, Sarasota | 60 min |
| Jan 23, 8:46 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 49 min |
| Jan 23, 8:50 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hardee | 45 min |
| Jan 23, 9:23 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | DeSoto, Hardee | 47 min |
| Jan 23, 9:28 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pasco | 47 min |
| Jan 23, 9:38 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Highlands | 47 min |
| Jan 23, 9:49 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 46 min |
| Jan 23, 10:33 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hardee, Highlands | 47 min |
| Jan 23, 10:42 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 48 min |
| Jan 23, 11:51 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 49 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.