Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

February 17, 1998Sarasota County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 17, 1998, 4:51 AM EST for Sarasota County, Florida. It was in force for 29 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 17, 1998, 4:51 AM EST (09:51 UTC)
Expired
Feb 17, 1998, 5:20 AM EST
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Sarasota County, FL

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 17, 3:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 58 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 00:00Z on 1998-02-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1385 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 00:00Z on 1998-02-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 408 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
1385 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
408 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
419 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.3
Supercell composite
13.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

132 
WFUS1 KTBW 170952 RRA
TORTBW
FLC115-171020-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
451 AM EST TUE FEB 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 520 AM EST FOR

...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SARASOTA COUNTY


AT 450 AM EST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
TORNADO 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF VENICE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
HIDDEN RIVER             AROUND 500 AM EST

OTHER STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTEND NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE
NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE COUNTY.

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.

NASH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 17, 3:36 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPinellas44 min
Feb 17, 3:58 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough47 min
Feb 17, 4:03 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWSarasota47 min
Feb 17, 4:35 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWManatee35 min
Feb 17, 4:59 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Polk46 min
Feb 17, 5:04 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWManatee36 min
Feb 17, 5:34 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHardee46 min
Feb 17, 6:02 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands48 min
Feb 17, 9:12 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLee48 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.