Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 43, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

March 19, 1998Manatee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 1998, 12:27 PM EST for Manatee County, Florida. It was in force for 48 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
Mar 19, 1998, 12:27 PM EST (17:27 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 1998, 1:15 PM EST
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Manatee County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:27 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 5.5 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 1998-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 31 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 1998-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -68 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
31 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-229 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

231 
WFUS1 KTBW 191729 RRA
TORTBW
FLC081-GMZ853-191815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1227 PM EST THU MAR 19 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A...TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 115 PM EST FOR

...MANATEE COUNTY

...AND INCLUDING THE GULF WATERS FROM THE MOUTH OF TAMPA BAY TO NEW
PASS

AT 1223 PM EST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN RUSKIN
INDICATED A TORNADO OFFSHORE LONG BOAT KEY MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT
20 TO 25 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE MOVING ONSHORE OVER CENTER OF LONG
BOAT KEY AND THEN ACROSS SARASOTA BAY.

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 Mar 19, 9:55 AM EST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 9:55 AM EST, 2 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL
955 AM EST THU MAR 19 1998

FIRST DAY BACK...PLUS BATTLING WEATHER AND SOME MISSING DATA
PROBLEMS. SO...NOT A LOT OF WORDS OF WISDOM TO OFFER. UPDATED
A PORTION OF OUR ZONES EARLIER TO REFLECT CURRENT WEATHER.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 19, 12:11 PM EST, 16 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-192100-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
NOON EST THU MAR 19 1998

...SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST CENTRAL AND
   SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THIS AFTERNOON...

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN THIS AFTERNOON RESULTING IN THE
   POSSIBLILTY FOR URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING...

...RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR ALL FORECASTED RIVERS
   AND CREEKS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE COMBINED WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
TODAY...A FEW OF WHICH MAY BECOME SEVERE. THE MAIN THREAT WILL
BE SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
RESULTING IN FLOODING.

HEAVY OVERNIGHT RAINS IN SOME AREAS COMBINED WITH ADDITIONAL
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TODAY HAS RESULTED IN A FLOODING THREAT FOR
RIVERS...CREEKS...AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS. RESIDENTS IN THESE
AREAS SHOULD STAY ABREAST OF THE SITUATION AND PREPARE TO SEEK
HIGHER GROUND IF FLOODING ENSUES. MOTORISTS SHOULD USE EXTREME
CAUTION WHEN DRIVING.

ALL PERSONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IF NECESSARY. PLEASE
LISTEN FOR LATER SHORT TERM FORECASTS...AND ANY LATER STATEMENTS OR
WARNINGS.

ADDITIONAL DATA ON RIVER FLOODING IS CONTAINED IN A SEPARATE FLOOD
STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA
OFFICE.

MILLER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 9:30 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco, Pinellas60 min
Mar 19, 1:41 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWManatee49 min
Mar 19, 2:06 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHardee59 min
Mar 19, 2:11 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWDeSoto59 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.