Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 15, 1998, 7:18 PM EST for Lee County, Florida. It was in force for 37 min. 4 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
- Feb 15, 1998, 7:18 PM EST (00:18 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 15, 1998, 7:55 PM EST
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lee County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:19 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 15, 7:35 PM EST | Tornado F0 | Cape Coral, FL | A short lived tornado touched down along Sanibel Captiva Road near Blind Pass on Sanibel Island and downed a few trees before it lifted and dissipated. |
| Feb 15, 7:45 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind | Cape Coral, FL | Thunderstorm winds downed several power lines along Sanibel Captiva Road on Sanibel Island. |
| Feb 15, 7:45 PM EST | Hail 0.75 | Cape Coral, FL | |
| Feb 15, 7:45 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind | Cape Coral, FL | Thunderstorm winds damaged pool cages and downed two large trees in Cape Coral. |
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 15, 6:15 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 132 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
- 166 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -60 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 559 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 283 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 362 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
346 WFUS1 KTBW 160017 RRA TORTBW FLC071-GMZ856-160055- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 718 PM EST SUN FEB 15 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 755 PM EST FOR ...LEE COUNTY ...AND INCLUDING THE GULF WATERS FROM GASPARILLA PASS TO BONITA BEACH INCLUDING SAN CARLOS BAY... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO MOVING ONSHORE OF THE OF CAPTIVA AND NORTHERN PINE ISLAND. THIS TORNADO WILL MOVE NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN CAPE CORAL A DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED TORNADO MEANS THAT THERE IS STRONG ROTATION WITHIN A STORM. THE STORM MAY NOT BE PRODUCING A TORNADO AT THE MOMENT...BUT WILL LIKELY DURING THE WARNING PERIOD. THE STORM MAY ALSO INCLUDE HAIL AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND. THOSE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM ARE ADVISED TO TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE HARD TO SEE. TAKE COVER NOW. SEEK REFUGE IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. YOU MAY ONLY HAVE A FEW SECONDS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STRONG BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Feb 15, 2:43 PM EST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 2:43 PM EST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 1015 AM EST SUN 15 1998 NOW ITS TIME TO THROW MODELS OUT THE WINDOW AND EXTRAPOLATE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEAR TERM. IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA WHERE THE AIR IS MORE UNSTABLE...A SEVERE THREAT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD. TO THE NORTH YOU CAN NOT DISCOUNT SOME SEVERE BUT TO A LESSER DEGREE AS THIS MCS MOVES ONSHORE. OVER ALL AREAS THE HODOGRAPH LOOKS VERY IMPRESSIVE WITH VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL SHEAR. HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED ALSO. AS THE LONG WAVE TROUGH DIGS IN WEST OF THE AREA...I AM THINKING THE SQUALL WILL START TO SLOW UP. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS TO BE MOVING RIGHT ALONG TODAY. I WILL STICK WITH THE QPF NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ADVERTISING ALL ALONG ABOUT 2 TO 3 INCHES FOR AN AREA WIDE TOTAL THROUGH MIDDAY MONDAY. WITH THE POTENTIALLY BAD WEATHER BEARING DOWN US THIS AFTERNOON I HAVE NOT HAD A LOT OF TIME TO LOOK AT THE NEXT SYSTEM. I WILL MENTION THAT WITH THE VERY IMPRESSIVE JET DEVELOPING AND OTHER CONDITIONS COMING TOGETHER...THE NEXT SYSTEM MAY MAKE THIS MCS LOOK PRETTY WIMPY. SOBIEN
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 15, 3:53 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-856- 870-873-876-160020- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 353 PM EST SUN FEB 15 1998 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT... ...GALE WARNING FOR THE GULF COASTAL AND OFFSHORE WATERS THROUGH MONDAY FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO BONITA BEACH... ...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ALL WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA... ...FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THROUGH MONDAY... ...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO BONITA BEACH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO WILL MOVE EAST...REACHING THE COAST OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BY EARLY THIS EVENING. THE BEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FROM TAMPA BAY SOUTH...AS A WARM FRONT OVER THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA MOVES NORTHWARD TONIGHT. EVEN OUTSIDE ANY THUNDERSTORMS...WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST WITH SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH...WITH GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH LIKELY. SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY LATER TONIGHT. AS THE WINDS TURN TO SOUTHERLY...CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR COASTAL FLOODING. THE BEST THREAT OF COASTAL FLOODING WILL NOT BE UNTIL LATER TONIGHT AS MORE SOUTHERLY WINDS CONINCIDE WITH THE NEXT ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDES...WHICH ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 3 AND 5 AM MONDAY MORNING. DURING THE PERIOD OF ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE...WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ELEVATED TO BETWEEN TWO AND THREE FEET ABOVE THE TIDE LEVELS. THIS MAY CAUSE SOME MINOR COASTAL FLOODING ALONG IMMEDIATE SHORE LINE LOCATIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER AND COASTAL FLOOD THREAT...RAINFALL TOTALS OF TWO TO THREE INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA TONIGHT. SOME LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF THREE TO FIVE INCHES MAY BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FROM TAMPA BAY SOUTH. THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL LIKELY AGGRAVATE THE CONDITIONS ALONG AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS...POSSIBLY CAUSING RIVERS CURRENTLY NOT FLOODING TO GO BACK ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. WITH THE EXPECTED WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL... PONDING OF WATER ON STREETS AND ROADWAYS...ESPECIALLY WITHIN LOW LYING AREAS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN CONCERNS TONIGHT WITH ANY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG WINDS OF 50 TO 60 MPH OR HIGHER...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME TORNADOES. IF SEVERE WEATHER BECOME THREAT...MOVE INDOORS...OR INTO A REINFORCED BUILDING. ALSO...ANY RESIDENTS ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS SHOULD MONITOR RIVER LEVELS FOR THE POTENTIAL OF RISING WATERS. ALL RESIDENTS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO/RADIO AND TV/CABLE TV BROADCASTS FOR THE LATEST STATMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. MORALES
Special weather statement, Feb 15, 3:53 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-856- 870-873-876-160020- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 353 PM EST SUN FEB 15 1998 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT... ...GALE WARNING FOR THE GULF COASTAL AND OFFSHORE WATERS THROUGH MONDAY FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO BONITA BEACH... ...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ALL WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA... ...FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THROUGH MONDAY... ...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO BONITA BEACH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO WILL MOVE EAST...REACHING THE COAST OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BY EARLY THIS EVENING. THE BEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FROM TAMPA BAY SOUTH...AS A WARM FRONT OVER THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA MOVES NORTHWARD TONIGHT. EVEN OUTSIDE ANY THUNDERSTORMS...WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST WITH SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH...WITH GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH LIKELY. SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY LATER TONIGHT. AS THE WINDS TURN TO SOUTHERLY...CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR COASTAL FLOODING. THE BEST THREAT OF COASTAL FLOODING WILL NOT BE UNTIL LATER TONIGHT AS MORE SOUTHERLY WINDS CONINCIDE WITH THE NEXT ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDES...WHICH ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 3 AND 5 AM MONDAY MORNING. DURING THE PERIOD OF ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE...WATER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ELEVATED TO BETWEEN TWO AND THREE FEET ABOVE THE TIDE LEVELS. THIS MAY CAUSE SOME MINOR COASTAL FLOODING ALONG IMMEDIATE SHORE LINE LOCATIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER AND COASTAL FLOOD THREAT...RAINFALL TOTALS OF TWO TO THREE INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA TONIGHT. SOME LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF THREE TO FIVE INCHES MAY BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FROM TAMPA BAY SOUTH. THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL LIKELY AGGRAVATE THE CONDITIONS ALONG AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS...POSSIBLY CAUSING RIVERS CURRENTLY NOT FLOODING TO GO BACK ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. WITH THE EXPECTED WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL... PONDING OF WATER ON STREETS AND ROADWAYS...ESPECIALLY WITHIN LOW LYING AREAS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN CONCERNS TONIGHT WITH ANY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG WINDS OF 50 TO 60 MPH OR HIGHER...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME TORNADOES. IF SEVERE WEATHER BECOME THREAT...MOVE INDOORS...OR INTO A REINFORCED BUILDING. ALSO...ANY RESIDENTS ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS SHOULD MONITOR RIVER LEVELS FOR THE POTENTIAL OF RISING WATERS. ALL RESIDENTS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO/RADIO AND TV/CABLE TV BROADCASTS FOR THE LATEST STATMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. MORALES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 15, 7:05 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Lee | 80 min |
| Feb 16, 9:29 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Citrus | 31 min |
| Feb 16, 11:28 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Pinellas | 32 min |
| Feb 16, 1:12 PM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 48 min |
| Feb 16, 1:18 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 47 min |
| Feb 16, 1:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 48 min |
| Feb 16, 2:25 PM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Polk | 50 min |
| Feb 16, 2:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 32 min |
| Feb 16, 3:11 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 49 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.