Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 98, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

May 5, 1998Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 5, 1998, 9:43 AM EDT for Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 47 min. 3 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 5, 1998, 9:43 AM EDT (13:43 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 1998, 10:30 AM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Hillsborough County, FL, Pinellas County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:44 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 5, 9:44 AM EDTHail 0.88St Petersburg, FL
May 5, 10:23 AM EDTHail 0.88Brandon, FLNickel to dime sized hail was reported by off-duty NWS meteorologists in Brandon.
May 5, 10:40 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 74Tampa, FLThunderstorm winds measured at 85 mph damaged nine parked aircraft and nine hanger doors at the Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Island. At least 27 drydocked sailboats and five moored power boats were damaged by the thunderstorm wind at a marina on Davis Isl

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, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 26 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 1998-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1588 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 1998-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 84 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
1588 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
808 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.6

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 May 5, 2:50 AM EDT, 6 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 2:50 AM EDT, 6 hours 53 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 5, 5:45 AM EDT, 3 hours 58 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-051530-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
545 AM EDT TUE MAY 5 1998

...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA...

DAYTIME HEATING WITHIN A WARM AND MARGINALLY MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE
PENINSULA WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THE GENERATION OF WIDELY
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

THE MORE FAVORABLE AREA FOR DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH OF
A LINE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL TO BARTOW TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR. ONLY ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NORTHWARD TO WILDWOOD AND BROOKSVILLE.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH...TO THE FLORIDA
EAST COAST MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...THEN INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THOSE THAT OCCURRED
MONDAY AFTERNOON.  HOWEVER ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF GENERATING
GUSTY WINDS...LOCAL DOWNPOURS...POSSIBLE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.

ALL PERSONS...PARTICULARLY THOSE IN INTERIOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA...
SHOULD BE ALERT TO LOCAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BEGINNING AROUND NOON
TODAY INTO THIS AFTERNOON.

RITTENBERRY
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:45 AM EDT, 3 hours 58 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-051530-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
545 AM EDT TUE MAY 5 1998

...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA...

DAYTIME HEATING WITHIN A WARM AND MARGINALLY MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE
PENINSULA WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THE GENERATION OF WIDELY
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

THE MORE FAVORABLE AREA FOR DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH OF
A LINE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL TO BARTOW TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR. ONLY ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NORTHWARD TO WILDWOOD AND BROOKSVILLE.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH...TO THE FLORIDA
EAST COAST MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...THEN INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THOSE THAT OCCURRED
MONDAY AFTERNOON.  HOWEVER ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF GENERATING
GUSTY WINDS...LOCAL DOWNPOURS...POSSIBLE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.

ALL PERSONS...PARTICULARLY THOSE IN INTERIOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA...
SHOULD BE ALERT TO LOCAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BEGINNING AROUND NOON
TODAY INTO THIS AFTERNOON.

RITTENBERRY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 10:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough49 min
May 5, 10:39 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk46 min
May 5, 11:27 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk48 min
May 5, 12:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk49 min
May 5, 2:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota50 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.