Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 26, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

March 31, 2001Sarasota County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 31, 2001, 6:27 PM EST for Sarasota County, Florida. It was in force for 48 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: Mar 31, 2001, 6:27 PM EST (23:27 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 2001, 7:15 PM EST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area: Whole counties

County Sarasota County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:31 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
Mar 31, 6:35 PM EST	Hail 0.88	Sarasota, FL	Nickel sized hail was reported by a Skywarn Spotter near the intersection of Tuttle and Bee Ridge Roads in Sarasota.

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
Mar 31, 6:00 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 233 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1036 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 575 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 44 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS52 KTBW 312327
SVRTBW
FLC115-010015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
627 PM EST SAT MAR 31 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN SARASOTA COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 715 PM EST.

* AT 627 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL...8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  SARASOTA...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT...
  SIESTA KEY.
  VAMO.
  FRUITVILLE.
  MYAKKA RIVER STATE PARK.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR HIGHER...AND
HAIL THE SIZE OF DIMES OR LARGER. MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.

$$


NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 31, 3:15 PM EST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 3:15 PM EST, 3 hours 12 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
315 PM EST SAT MAR 31 2001

WILL CANCEL FLOOD WATCH WITH THIS PACKAGE. WE ARE GETTING LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN WITH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...BUT NOT WIDESPREAD
ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY THE CONTINUATION OF THE FLOOD WATCH.

SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE PROBLEM THIS EVENING...BUT FAIR WEATHER
SUNDAY AND BEYOND AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN AT ALL LEVELS FOR THE
WEEK.

MARINE: WILL LET CURRENT FORECAST RIDE AS LITTLE TIME TO LOOK AT
ANYTHING. SCEC CRITERIA MAY BE MET SUNDAY...AS PER CURRENT FORECAST.

PRELIM NUMBERS:
TPA 62/76/52/76 1000
FMY 66/81/55/80 4000

.TBW...FIRE WX WATCH SUNDAY FLZ039-042>043-052-056>057-061...AND
       INTERIOR FLZ048>049.

ALSHEIMER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 31, 5:22 PM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
522 PM EST SAT MAR 31 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 PM    6 NE THONOTOSASSA         FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY HILLSBOROUGH
                                          RIVER STATE PARK.

0205 PM    LARGO                     FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   PINELLAS                       REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0208 PM    LARGO                     FL   1.75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   PINELLAS                       REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0238 PM    POLK CITY                 FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   POLK                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0250 PM    HAINES CITY               FL   1.75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   POLK                           REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

0258 PM    SEFFNER                   FL   1 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY MEDIA.

0300 PM    PLANT CITY                FL   1 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

0300 PM    3 NNW BRANDON             FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY FIRE AND
                                          RESCUE.

0301 PM    SEFFNER                   FL   1.5 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY MEDIA.

0305 PM    TURKEY CREEK              FL   1.5 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   HILLSBOROUGH                   REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0319 PM    1 W LAKELAND              FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   POLK                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0403 PM    1 N CYPRESS GARDENS       FL   .75 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   POLK                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0404 PM    WINTER HAVEN              FL   .88 INCH HAIL
03/31/01   POLK                           REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

RKR

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 31, 1:46 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough, Pasco	29 min
Mar 31, 2:02 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Pinellas	28 min
Mar 31, 2:22 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough	38 min
Mar 31, 2:27 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Polk	33 min
Mar 31, 3:01 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Hillsborough, Polk	29 min
Mar 31, 3:31 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Polk	44 min
Mar 31, 4:15 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Polk	25 min
Mar 31, 5:18 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Manatee, Sarasota	57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 2001 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.