Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

September 14, 2001Lee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Sep 14, 2001, 4:05 AM EDT for Lee County, Florida. It was in force for 25 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 14, 2001, 4:05 AM EDT (08:05 UTC)
Expired
Sep 14, 2001, 4:30 AM EDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Lee County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:06 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 14, 4:21 AM EDTTornado F0Matlacha, FLA weak F0 tornado sporadically touched down along a narrow path, from near Matlacha, north to the Lee - Charlotte county line, near the Burnt Store Marina. The weak tornado continued to sporadically touch down as it moved north and crossed into Charlotte coun

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, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 132 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 2001-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 526 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 2001-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 88 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
526 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
513 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

820 
WFUS52 KTBW 140806
TORTBW
FLC071-140830-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
405 AM EDT FRI SEP 14 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN LEE COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 430 AM EDT.

* AT 405 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
A   TORNADO OVER PINE ISLAND IN LEE COUNTY...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT...
  WESTERN LEE COUNTY.
  CAPE CORAL.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM MOVE INTO THE INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD AND
BODY WITH PILLOWS OR BLANKETS.

TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT. TAKE COVER NOW MOVE TO
A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING.
ABANDON MOBILE HOMES. LEAVE VEHICLES AND GET INTO A DITCH OR LOW
SPOT.

$$

LAT...LON 2654 8213 2655 8203 2675 8199 2675 8219

25
NNNN

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 14, 3:39 AM EDT, 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 14, 3:39 AM EDT, 26 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
339 AM EDT FRI SEP 14 2001

ANOTHER DAY OF WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL FORECAST FOR THE TS BEFORE
MAKING MY FORECAST.  WE HAVE ALREADY UPGRADED OUR INLAND WIND WATCH
TO A WARNING.  BANDS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE WORKING THERE WAY NORTH
FROM THE STORM WHICH COULD WREAK HAVOC ON THE RIVER FLOODING
SITUATION IN DESOTO AND HARDEE COUNTIES.

I PLAN NO BIG CHANGES TO THE FORECAST...PRETTY MUCH GOING WITH
PERSISTENCE.  WE FINALLY HAVE GOTTEN A SATELLITE PIX AND YOU CAN
SEE THE CENTER OF GABBY IS PRETTY MUCH EXPOSED TO THE SOUTHWEST OF
THE CONVECTION...BUT SAT PIX AND THE TLH RADAR SHOW SOME SHOWERS
WRAPPING AROUND THE WEST SIDE OF THE STORM.  I WILL LOWER POPS FOR
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT BUT WILL NOT REMOVE POPS
COMPLETELY.  BUT AGAIN MY FORECAST IS HIGHLY DEPENDANT ON THE
FORECAST TRACK OF THE STORM.

JUST BASED ON A LITTLE EXTRAPOLATION I AM THINKING THAT SATURDAY I
CAN CLEAR THE WEATHER OUT A BIT.  WE PROBABLY WILL BE ABLE TO CANCEL
THE LONG LIVED FLOOD WATCH BY LATE TODAY...BUT THAT IS A DECISION I
WILL LEAVE TO THE DAY SHIFT.  I WILL NOT REMOVE POPS COMPLETELY AS
THERE LOOKS LIKE A WEAK WAVE MAY BE ADVECTING THROUGH THE MID LEVEL
FLOW.

BY EARLY NEXT WEEK IT LOOKS LIKE WE GO BACK TO EASTERLY FLOW AND A
SHOT AT AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS.

THANK FOR THE COORDINATION MIA.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS

TPA TB 083/073 087/071 086 +411
FMY TB 082/073 088/073 090 +311

.TBW...TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR ALL TBW COASTAL AND NEAR SHORE
       WATERS FROM BONITA SPRINGS TO SUWANNEE RIVER...
    ...HURRICANE WATCH FROM BONITA SPRINGS TO TARPON SPRINGS...
    ...INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING TODAY FOR SUMTER...POLK
       HARDEE...DESOTO...AND HIGHLANDS COUNTIES.
    ...FLOOD WATCH THRU SAT ALL ZONES.
    ...SMALL CRAFT REMAIN IN PORT BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE RIVER.

SOBIEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 14, 4:30 AM EDTTornado WarningTBWLee30 min
Sep 14, 4:35 AM EDTTornado WarningTBWCharlotte25 min
Sep 14, 4:57 AM EDTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto33 min
Sep 14, 5:53 AM EDTTornado WarningTBWManatee37 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes 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.