Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 85, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 4, 1998, 1:40 PM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 50 min. 2 reports 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 4, 1998, 1:40 PM EDT (17:40 UTC)
- Expired
- May 4, 1998, 2:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, FL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1:54 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Mulberry, FL | Dime sized hail was reported from Mulberry to Auburndale. |
| May 4, 2:35 PM EDT | Hail 1 | Lake Wales, FL | Quarter sized hail was reported near the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and State Road 60 by Skywarn Spotters. |
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, 5.7 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
- 281 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -250 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1611 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 60 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
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 4, 10:10 AM EDT, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 4, 10:10 AM EDT, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 1010 AM EDT MON MAY 4 1998 TSTM ACTIVITY OVER THE NE GULF MOVING SE TOWARD N FA. JUST GOT A 53 VIL ABT 45 MILES OFFSHR OF LEVY. DIALED INTO KTLH 88D AND LATEST VILS FOR STORMS OVR BIG BEND/NE GULF APPROACHING 60. AT FIRST GLANCE...ATMOS SEEMS VERY UNSTABLE. MODIFYING 12Z TBW SNDG WITH 83/62 GIVES CAPE JUST OVER 2000. HOWEVER...MOISTR IS DEFINITELY THE LIMITING FACTOR. WITH LOTS OF AC NOW DOWN NR SRQ...HEATING SHOULD STAY COOLER THAN CURRENT FCST... HELPING TO KEEP INSTABILITY LOWER AT LEAST OVER CENT FA. A DIFFERENT STORY OVER THE N FA. WITH STORMS ALREADY APPROACHING FM THE NE GULF...INCLINED TO BEEF UP POPS TO AT LEAST GOOD CHC AND EVEN MENTION POSSIBILITY OF STRONG STORMS. MAIN THREAT WITH ANY STRONG/SVR STORMS WILL BE HAIL AS UPR LEVEL TEMPS VERY COLD. MAY ALSO ADD SLGT POP OVR CENT COASTAL AREA AND INCREASE CLD COVER WORDING. WITH MORE CLDS WILL ALSO HAVE TO TWEAK DOWN FCST MAXES. WILL CALL ALL SURROUNDING OFFICES TO COORD BEFORE CHGS MADE. MORALES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 64 min |
| May 4, 1:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hernando | 35 min |
| May 4, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 35 min |
| May 4, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hardee, Highlands, Polk | 45 min |
| May 4, 2:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 51 min |
| May 4, 3:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Highlands | 41 min |
| May 4, 3:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Sarasota | 44 min |
| May 4, 4:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Charlotte | 45 min |
| May 4, 5:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Lee | 44 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.