Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 62, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Sep 3, 1998, 5:47 AM EDT for Citrus County, Florida. It was in force for 33 min. 1 report 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
- Sep 3, 1998, 5:47 AM EDT (09:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 3, 1998, 6:20 AM EDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Citrus County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:49 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 6:05 AM EDT | Tornado F2 | Crystal River, FL | A tornado (F2), associated with an outer band of Hurricane Earl, touched down along N. Fairport Avenue, east of the intersection of County Road 495 and West Dunklin Road, six miles northeast of Crystal River. The tornado moved northeast, sporadically touched |
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 00:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 128 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
- 620 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1140 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 191 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 246 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 7.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
150 WFUS1 KTBW 030948 RRA TORTBW FLC017-GMZ850-031020- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 547 AM EDT THU SEP 3 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... CITRUS COUNTY INCLUDING ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA * UNTIL 620 AM EDT * AT 545 AM...A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CRYSTAL RIVER. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THE STORM NEED TO TAKE COVER IN A STURDY BUILDING. MOBILE HOMES AND CARS ARE NOT SAFE.
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 Sep 3, 2:45 AM EDT, 3 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 2:45 AM EDT, 3 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY-RUSKIN, FL 245 AM EDT THU SEP 03 1998 HURRICANE EARL IS MAKING LANDFALL NEAR PANAMA CITY FL ATTM. A RAIN BAND EXTENDS FROM CEDAR KEY TO 100 MILES WEST OF SARASOTA. THIS BAND IS MOVING VERY SLOWLY EAST WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RACING TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE LIKELY OCCURRING WITH THIS RAINBAND...AT 1 AM CEDAR KEY HAD SUSTAINED WINDS OF 33 KTS AND THE BUOY 100 MILES WEST OF BAYPORT HAD SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 31KTS WITH GUSTS TO 39KTS AND 19 FOOT SEAS. THIS ALSO MARKS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE STORM SURGE AS LEVY COUNTY HAS REPORTED RISING WATER AND A FEW COASTAL ROADS UNDER WATER. THE COAST GUARD AT YANKEETOWN REPORTS TIDES RUNNING 5 FEET ABOVE ASTRONOMICAL TIDES AND RISING. THE STORM SURGE WILL ADVANCE DOWN THE WEST COAST OF FL THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AHEAD OF THE BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. CURRENT WARNINGS LOOK GOOD AND WILL CONTINUE THE COASTAL FLOOD WARNING THROUGH TODAY FOR PINELLAS...HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE...AND SARASOTA COUNTIES. THE NEXT HIGH TIDE WILL OCCUR AROUND NOON. TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE FOR LEVY...CITRUS...HERNANDO...AND PASCO COUNTIES. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TODAY FROM PASCO COUNTY NORTH DUE TO THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN. A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR LEVY COUNTY UNTIL 11 AM. MODEL DATA VERY POOR INITIALIZING EARL AND FORECAST TRENDS. BASED ON SATELLITE AND RADAR INFORMATION...EXPECT BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO ADVANCE TO THE WEST CENTRAL FL COAST AROUND SUNRISE AND MOVE VERY SLOWLY INLAND...OR BECOME NEARLY STATIONARY ALONG THE COASTAL ZONES. COULD SEE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AS SHOWERS TRAIN ALONG BAND. AS EARL MOVES INLAND...THIS BAND COULD WEAKEN AND DISSIPATE. BUT WOULD EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO REDEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON ANYWAY SO LIKELY POPS LOOK GOOD FOR MOST OF THE REGION...WITH GOOD CHANCE POPS OVER THE SOUTHERN FA. OG4LESBY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 3, 5:28 AM EDT, 19 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-031500- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 528 AM EDT THU SEP 3 1998 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY UNTIL 11 AM... ...TROPICAL STORM WARNING FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO THE ANCLOTE KEYS... ...A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FROM THE ANCLOTE KEYS TO ENGLEWOOD... AT 525 AM...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED FROM AROUND THE GAINESVILLE AREA...SOUTHWEST THROUGH CITRUS COUNTY...THEN EXTENDING SOUTHWEST FOR MORE THAN 100 MILES INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. THIS LINE WAS MOVING RAPIDLY EAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. THE MAIN THREAT FROM STORMS TODAY WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. WITHIN THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE GULF WATERS...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR WATERSPOUT DEVELOPMENT. AS THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVES OVER LAND AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. TIDES WILL CONTINUE TO RISE ALONG THE COAST...ESPECIALLY OVER LEVY AND CITRUS COUNTIES...WHERE TIDES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED TO BE ABOUT 6 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. THE HIGHEST STORM TIDES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...COINCIDING WITH THE NEXT ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE. SEE THE LASTEST HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT FROM THE TAMPA BAY OFFICE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. COASTAL RESIDENTS FROM NLEVY COUNTY TO SARASOTA COUNTY SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR WATER LEVELS...AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF NECESSARY. MORALES
Special weather statement, Sep 3, 5:28 AM EDT, 19 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-031500- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 528 AM EDT THU SEP 3 1998 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR LEVY COUNTY UNTIL 11 AM... ...TROPICAL STORM WARNING FROM THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO THE ANCLOTE KEYS... ...A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FROM THE ANCLOTE KEYS TO ENGLEWOOD... AT 525 AM...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED FROM AROUND THE GAINESVILLE AREA...SOUTHWEST THROUGH CITRUS COUNTY...THEN EXTENDING SOUTHWEST FOR MORE THAN 100 MILES INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. THIS LINE WAS MOVING RAPIDLY EAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. THE MAIN THREAT FROM STORMS TODAY WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. WITHIN THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE GULF WATERS...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR WATERSPOUT DEVELOPMENT. AS THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVES OVER LAND AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. TIDES WILL CONTINUE TO RISE ALONG THE COAST...ESPECIALLY OVER LEVY AND CITRUS COUNTIES...WHERE TIDES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED TO BE ABOUT 6 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. THE HIGHEST STORM TIDES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...COINCIDING WITH THE NEXT ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE. SEE THE LASTEST HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT FROM THE TAMPA BAY OFFICE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. COASTAL RESIDENTS FROM NLEVY COUNTY TO SARASOTA COUNTY SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR WATER LEVELS...AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF NECESSARY. MORALES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 7:05 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pasco, Pinellas | 50 min |
| Sep 3, 8:08 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pinellas | 22 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.