Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 33, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

May 25, 2001Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 2001, 6:16 PM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 44 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: May 25, 2001, 6:16 PM EDT (22:16 UTC)
Expired: May 25, 2001, 7:00 PM EDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area: Whole counties

County Polk County, FL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 25, 6:30 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Lakeland, FL	A utility company reported dime sized hail that covered the ground four miles east of downtown Lakeland.

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 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 74 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: 973 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 709 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS52 KTBW 252219
SVRTBW

FLC105-252300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
616 PM EDT FRI MAY 25 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  POLK COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT.

* AT 616 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
  CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING       
  WINDS...FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAKELAND TO 15 MILES SOUTHEAST  
  OF BARTOW...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT...
  FORT MEADE.
  POLK CITY.
  WINTER HAVEN.
  LAKE ALFRED.
  LAKE WALES.
  HAINES CITY.

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

$$

LAT...LON 2831 8205 2818 8206 2813 8192 2769 8181
          2774 8156 2791 8143 2828 8177

2L5
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 May 25, 2:03 PM EDT, 4 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 2:03 PM EDT, 4 hours 13 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
203 PM EDT FRI MAY 25 2001

EARLY SUMMER CONDS IN FULL SWING ACROSS THE CWFA...AT LEAST TEMP AND
NOW HUMIDITY WISE.  MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND WILL BE RAIN-FREE FOR THE
MOST PART (ESPECIALLY CLOSER TO THE COAST).  BEACH WEATHER WILL BE
BEST...A TAD COOLER THAN INLAND BUT WITH COMFORTABLE WATER TEMPS
AND NO RAIN.

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH 36H...THEN DIVERGE A BIT BY
48H.  IRONICALLY...THE AVN...DESPITE ALL ITS OVERKILL ON INDIVIDUAL
WAVES MOVING ALONG THE SUBTROPICAL JET TO OUR S...HAS VERIFIED BEST
IN KEEPING HIGHEST MEAN MOISTURE OUT OF THE CWFA.  THIS GO-ROUND...
THE AVN AND ETA ARE IN BEST AGREEMENT...AND THE NGM (WHICH IS
CARRYING A 90 POP LATE TODAY FOR FMY) CONTINUES TO BE OVERDONE WITH
N EXTENT OF MOISTURE...NOT ONLY THIS AFTN BUT AGAIN ON SUNDAY.

SHORT TERM:
DESPITE OVERALL DRYNESS OF ATMOSPHERE...LAPS SOUNDINGS ARE RATHER
UNSTABLE...ESP CENTRAL AND S...WITH CAPES NEARING 3K AND LIS
NEARING -8.  WERE WATCHING SLOW PROGRESSION OF WCSB WITH BUILDING CU
OVER INTERIOR COASTAL COS ATTM...WHICH COULD FIRE INTO SOME
CONVECTION OVER INTERIOR PORTIONS LATE.  WILL DECIDE LAST MINUTE
WHETHER TO ADD A REST OF AFTN/EVE PORTION TO ZONES.

THEREAFTER...SKIES SHOULD BE MCLR N AND PCLDY S (AS CI STREAKS N).
FOR SAT...WILL LEAVE POPS OUT OF THE CENTRAL AND N COAST AND DROP
BACK TO ISOLD INTERIOR AS RESURGENCE OF LOW LVL DRYING SHOWS UP IN
NW FLOW.  ONE CONCERN WILL BE THE REORIENTATION OF THE MALLORY
SWAMP PLUME TO THE SE (GIVEN NW FLOW IN THE MIXED LAYER)...WHICH
COULD IMPACT LEVY CO LATE.  BY SUN...FLOW RETURNS TO SW BUT PCP
WATER REMAINS LOW CENTRAL AND N.  WILL PUSH POPS UP A SMIDGE...
LEAVING THE NATURE COAST DRY.

EXTENDED:
AVN POOLS MOISTURE IN THE GULF AND EASES IT E INTO THE CWFA ON
MON. NOGAPS RETAINS W FLOW AROUND SLOWLY LIFTING POLAR VORTEX AND
HOLDS DEEPER MOISTURE S OF THE CWFA FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE DAY.  THE
AVN IS RESPONDING TO A WEAK TROUGH NEAR THE YUCATAN...WHICH MAY NOT
BE TOO FAR OFF AS W FLOW FINALLY GIVES WAY LATER IN THE WEEK.  DUE
TO UNCERTAINTY WILL LEAVE FCST ALONE...ROLLING NEAR CLIMO TEMPS AND
PCPN.

MARINE:  QUIET THROUGH THE SHORT TERM...AND A TURN TO LIGHT S FLOW
AS FCST THEREAFTER.

FIRE WX:  NW FLOW ON SAT ENHANCING THE DRY AIR IN PLACE...ESP
INTERIOR...SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO GET 2-4 HOURS OF DURATION (GIVEN
HIGH AFTN TEMPS) AWAY FROM THE COAST.  WILL HOIST WATCH FOR ALL BUT
THE SW COUNTIES ON SAT.

PRELIM NUMBERS:
TPA BB 073/089/073/089 1111
FMY BB 072/090/072/090 1212 88

.TBW...FIRE WX WATCH THROUGH SUNSET LEVY...CITRUS...SUMTER...
       AND HERNANDO COUNTIES.
    ...FIRE WX WATCH SATURDAY FOR SUMTER...POLK...HIGHLANDS...HARDEE
       AND DESOTO COUNTIES.
    ...FIRE WX WATCH SATURDAY FOR INTERIOR LEVY...CITRUS...
       HERNANDO...PASCO...HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE...SARASOTA COUNTIES.

GOLDSMITH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 5:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Polk	27 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.