Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 28, 1998Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 28, 1998, 12:10 PM EST for Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Florida. It was in force for 65 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
Feb 28, 1998, 12:10 PM EST (17:10 UTC)
Expired
Feb 28, 1998, 1:15 PM EST
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Hillsborough County, FL, Manatee County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 5 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:11 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 28, 11:00 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 5 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 1998-02-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1297 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 1998-02-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 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
1297 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
722 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
10.6

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 28, 9:46 AM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 9:46 AM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 28, 6:36 AM EST, 5 hours 34 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-870-873-2802300-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
600 AM EST SAT FEB 28 1998

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND
   SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SATURDAY NIGHT...

...RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE WITHLACOOCHEE...
   MYAKKA...AND PEACE RIVERS...AND CYPRESS CREEK...

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
   PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA...

A VERY SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY STRETCHING ACROSS THE FLORIDA
BIG BEND AREA SOUTHWEST INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING WILL
DRIFT INTO NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA BY SUNDAY MORNING.  A STRONG UPPER
LEVEL JET AND A SUFFICIENTLY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER FLORIDA WILL
LEAD TO THUNDERSTORMS THAT WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND JUST
AHEAD OF THE FRONT.  THE AREAS OF RAIN THAT DO FORM WILL
MOVE NEARLY PARALLEL TO THE FRONT OVER THE SAME AREAS. THIS WOULD
CAUSE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO BE POSSIBLE. GIVEN
ALREADY SATURATED GROUND AND HIGH RIVER LEVELS...THE PREMISE FOR
WORSENED RIVER FLOODING AND FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND FLOOD PRONE
AREAS EXISTS TODAY AND TONIGHT.

WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH THIS EVENT BUT THE
ATMOSPHERE WILL BE UNSTABLE ENOUGH AND WINDS ALOFT STRONG ENOUGH
THAT AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MAY BE POSSIBLE.  IN ADDITION DRY
AIR ALOFT MAY ENHANCE THUNDERSTORMS SOMEWHAT.  THE MAIN THREAT WITH
THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

RESIDENTS LIVING IN THESE FLOOD PRONE AREAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO
THE POSSIBILITY OF FLOODING IF THE HEAVY RAINS DEVELOP.

SKYWARN UNITS &SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THEY MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY
AND TONIGHT...IF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DO DEVELOP.

FOR THE LATEST WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS ON THUNDERSTORMS OR RIVER
FLOODING...LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TV.

SOBIEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 28, 8:05 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCitrus60 min
Feb 28, 9:20 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco60 min
Feb 28, 10:22 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco48 min
Feb 28, 11:45 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk65 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.