Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 16, 1998Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 16, 1998, 11:28 AM EST for Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 32 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 16, 1998, 11:28 AM EST (16:28 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1998, 12:00 PM EST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Pinellas County, FL

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 16, 8:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 40 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 1998-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 368 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 1998-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 456 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
368 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
456 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
609 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

853 
WFUS1 KTBW 161630 RRA
TORTBW
FLC103-GMZ853-161700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1128 AM EST MON FEB 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1200 PM EST FOR

...PINELLAS COUNTY

...AND INCLUDING THE GULF WATERS FROM ANCLOTE KEY TO THE MOUTH OF
TAMPA BAY
AT 1125 AM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO LOCATED
JUST OFFSHORE FROM INDIAN ROCKS BEACH AND REDINGTON SHORES MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL BE HEADING TOWARD THE LARGO AREA BY 1140
AM.



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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 7:05 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLee80 min
Feb 15, 7:18 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWLee37 min
Feb 16, 9:29 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWCitrus31 min
Feb 16, 1:12 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough48 min
Feb 16, 1:18 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWManatee47 min
Feb 16, 1:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough48 min
Feb 16, 2:25 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk50 min
Feb 16, 2:38 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk32 min
Feb 16, 3:11 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk49 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.