Alert archive / Florida / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 12, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

August 10, 2003Sarasota County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this flash flood warning at Aug 10, 2003, 11:04 AM EDT for Sarasota County, Florida. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Aug 10, 2003, 11:04 AM EDT (15:04 UTC)
Expired: Aug 10, 2003, 2:00 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
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 15:07 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

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 3.1 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: 425 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 629 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 62 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.

000 
WGUS52 KTBW 101504
FFWTBW
FLC115-101800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1104 AM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN SARASOTA COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

  FLOODING WILL AFFECT THE FOLLOWING CITIES.
  VENICE.
  SOUTH VENICE.
  VENICE GARDENS.

* UNTIL 200 PM EDT

* AT 1104 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR            
  INDICATED RAINFALL RATES OF THREE INCHES PER HOUR WITH A LARGE AREA
  OF RAIN WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS COVERING MUCH OF THE SARASOTA  
  COUNTY. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES FOR THE PAST 3 HOURS INDICATE THAT 
  3 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN IN THE VENICE AND SOUTH VENICE    
  AREAS...WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS UP TO 6 INCHES INDICATED.           
  ADDITIONAL AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN IS FORECASTED TO 
  TRAIN ACROSS THE WARNING AREA INTO THE AFTERNOON...WITH AN         
  ADDITIONAL 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN LIKELY WITH LOCALLY HIGHER      
  AMOUNTS IN SOME LOCATIONS.

AT 1045 AM EDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLOODING IN MANY 
AREAS WITH SEVERAL ROADS CLOSED DUE TO HIGH STANDING WATER. 
MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION IF TRAVELING ABOUT 
THIS AFTERNOON.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE HEAVY RAINS WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF LOW 
LYING AREAS AND INTERSECTIONS. POOR DRAINAGE AREAS ARE MOST AT RISK. 
DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED ROADS

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT CROSS FLOODED 
ROADWAYS OR STREAMS. IF NEARING A FLOOD AREA...TURN AROUND AND DRIVE 
TO HIGHER TERRAIN.

DONT BECOME A STATISTIC. TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN

&&

$$

LAT...LON 2719 8217 2703 8230 2693 8245 2723 8250
57

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Aug 10, 9:27 AM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 10, 9:27 AM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
927 AM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

DRY SLOT...IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT...HAS MOVED INTO LEVY AND CITRUS
COUNTY WHERE THE SUN IS MAKING A WELCOME APPEARANCE. STILL PLENTY
OF MOISTURE IN ATMOSPHERE FOR AFTERNOON CONVECTION...BUT WILL BUMP
TEMPS UP SOME FOR TODAY AND LOWER POPS FROM 70 TO 50. REST OF
FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AS DEEP PLUME OF TROPICAL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO
GET WRUNG OUT OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA. 06Z AVN AND MESOETA BOTH
INDICATING A BIT LESS COVERAGE IN THE GULF FOR TONIGHT/MONDAY
MORNING. 500MB HEIGHTS DO COME UP SOME AND MAIN SHEAR AXIS LIFTS
NORTHWARD...TO SOMEWHERE NEAR TAMPA BY MONDAY MORNING...AND WEAKENS.
NOT GOING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE FORECAST BEYOND THE FIRST
PERIOD...BUT WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING THE
FLOOD WATCH INTO MONDAY WITH THE NEXT PACKAGE.

MARINE...WINDS ABOUT 10 KNOTS AND SEAS AROUND 2 FEET. NO
HIGHLIGHTS AND DONT EXPECT TO MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE CURRENT
MARINE FORECAST.

.TBW...FLOOD WATCH TODAY FOR LEVY...CITRUS...SUMTER...
       HERNANDO...PASCO...HILLSBOROUGH...PINELLAS...MANATEE...
       POLK...SARASOTA...HARDEE...DESOTO...HIGHLANDS...LEE AND
       CHARLOTTE COUNTIES.

JILLSON

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 10, 5:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-101400-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL FL
515 AM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT:

...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR ALL OF WEST CENTRAL AND
   SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...

CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE FAVORABLE FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
TODAY...WITH COASTAL AREAS AGAIN EXPECTED TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE
OF RECEIVING THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL. MANY LOCATIONS...ESPECIALLY
THOSE NEAR THE GULF COAST...COULD RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES
OF RAINFALL TODAY...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES. ANY
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL COULD PRODUCE AT LEAST MINOR FLOODING IN
POORLY DRAINED...LOW LYING AREAS.

THE BEST CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE
THIS MORNING ALONG THE COAST FROM LEVY COUNTY TO LEE COUNTY...THEN
SHIFT FARTHER INLAND DURING THE AFTERNOON.

IN ADDITION...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AGGRAVATE ANY ONGOING
FLOODING ON AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS...AND COULD CAUSE ADDITIONAL
RIVERS AND STREAMS TO APPROACH OR GO ABOVE BANK-FULL.

FOR MARINE INTERESTS...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR WATERSPOUT
FORMATION THIS MORNING. ANY STRONGER STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE GUSTY
WINDS OF UP TO 30 KNOTS...LOCALLY ROUGH SEAS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS...
AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY:

ONE MORE DAY WITH THE THREAT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ON MONDAY. BY
TUESDAY...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE
SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES THAT HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXTENDED
PERIOD OF HEAVY RAINFALL...WILL WEAKEN AND MOVE WESTWARD...AS HIGH
PRESSURE GRADUALLY BUILDS OVER THE AREA. THIS WILL SHIFT THE TIMING
OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BACK TOWARD THE MORE NORMAL
AFTERNOON AND EVENING TIME FRAME.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND MONDAY...PRIMARILY FOR
RAINFALL AND LOCAL OVERLAND AND RIVER FLOOD REPORTS.

RFM

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Florida, 2003 Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.