Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 50, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 28, 1998Pasco County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 28, 1998, 9:14 PM EST for Pasco County, Florida. It was in force for 46 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 28, 1998, 9:14 PM EST (02:14 UTC)
Expired: Feb 28, 1998, 10:00 PM EST
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area: Whole counties

County Pasco County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:13 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
Feb 28, 9:30 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	Port Richey, FL	Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees, numerous power lines, and damaged vehicles and the roofs of a few homes and businesses, mainly in the 6200 block of Florida Avenue in Port Richey.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Feb 28, 8:30 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 67 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1852 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 516 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 136 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 3.9

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, 7:48 PM EST, 1 hour 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 7:48 PM EST, 1 hour 26 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL
748 PM EST SAT FEB 28 1998

AIR MASS STILL JUICY THIS EVENING AND TSTORMS HAVE REFIRED IN THE
EASTERN GULF. WATER VAPOR SHOWS NEXT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
ENTERING THE WESTERN GULF WHICH SHOULD PRODUCE ENOUGH LIFT OVERNIGHT
TO CONTINUE THE ACTIVITY. I WILL UP THE POPS SHORTLY AS THE
WEATHER APPROACHES THE COAST...ESPECIALLY TAMPA NORTHWARD.

UNFORTUANTELY...THIS MEANS MORE RAIN. URBAN FLOOD ADVISORIES
MAY AGAIN BE NEEDED...ESPECIALLY IN PASCO COUNTY WHERE OVER 2 INCHES
OF RAIN FELL IN SOME PARTS EARLIER TODAY.

SEVERE WEATHER MAY ALSO BECOME A THREAT AS THE ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE
UNSTABLE WITH AFOS 00Z MODIFIED SWEAT AT 609. WINDS ARE NOT
SPECTACULAR BUT ARE VEERING NONETHELESS AND PERSISTENCE DEMANDS
CAUTION. THIS WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY.

THANKS FOR THE DISC SPC.

ALSHEIMER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 28, 3:35 PM EST, 5 hours 39 minutes before

FLZ052-055>057-060>062-282100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
335 PM EST SAT FEB 28 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR POLK...HARDEE...DESOTO...HIGHLANDS...
   MANATEE...SARASOTA...AND CHARLOTTE COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ISSUED AT 1040 AM EST HAS BEEN CANCELLED
FOR POLK...HARDEE...DESOTO...HIGHLANDS...MANATEE...SARASOTA...AND
CHARLOTTE COUNTIES.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE AREA AND ARE NOT EXPECTED
TO REDEVELOP THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

MCMICHAEL

Local storm report, Feb 28, 3:37 PM EST, 5 hours 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
337 PM EST SAT FEB 28 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

824  AM    CRYSTAL RIVER             FL   0.75 IN HAIL
2/28/98    CITRUS                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER.

930  AM    PORT RICHEY               FL   0.75 IN HAIL
2/28/98    PASCO                          DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER.

939  AM    PORT RICHEY               FL   0.88 IN HAIL
2/28/98    PASCO                          NICKLE SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER.

1157 AM    WINTER HAVEN              FL   WIND DAMAGE
2/28/98    POLK                           2 TREES BLOWN DOWN ON
                                          14TH STREET AND LAKE LINK
                                          ROAD S.E. IN WINTER HAVEN.
                                          REPORTED BY WINTER HAVEN
                                          SHERIFFS OFFICE.

MCMICHAEL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 28, 8:24 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Pasco	51 min
Feb 28, 9:07 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hernando	48 min
Feb 28, 11:35 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough	45 min
Mar 1, 12:28 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough	47 min
Mar 1, 12:42 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Polk	63 min
Mar 1, 12:53 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Polk	47 min
Mar 1, 1:01 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hardee	49 min
Mar 1, 3:49 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Citrus	31 min
Mar 1, 5:04 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Manatee, Sarasota	61 min
Mar 1, 5:29 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Manatee	31 min
Mar 1, 5:36 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Manatee, Sarasota	34 min
Mar 1, 6:11 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Manatee, Sarasota	44 min
Mar 1, 7:12 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Charlotte	48 min
Mar 1, 8:23 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Lee	47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 1998 Every 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.