Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 107, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

September 25, 2003Sarasota County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 25, 2003, 4:51 PM EDT for Sarasota County, Florida. It was in force for 24 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 25, 2003, 4:51 PM EDT (20:51 UTC)
Expired
Sep 25, 2003, 5:15 PM EDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sarasota County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:52 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

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 58 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 12:00Z on 2003-09-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1477 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2003-09-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 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
1477 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
753 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Sep 25, 1:34 PM EDT, 3 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 25, 1:34 PM EDT, 3 hours 17 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
134 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003

.CURRENTLY...LAPS SOUNDING DATA SHOWS AN INCREASINGLY MOIST AND
UNSTABLE AIR MASS (PW >2 AND LI  -9C) ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA
EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...AND 88D RETURNS CONFIRM THIS SHOWING
CONVECTION RAPIDLY DEVELOPING. AS THE AFTERNOON CONTINUES EXPECT TO
SEE AREAL COVERAGE OF CONVECTION CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS SEA BREEZE
CIRCULATIONS AND OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES INTERACT. IN ADDITION WITH
RATHER COOL TEMPERATURES ALOFT (50H TEMP -9C) SOME STORMS COULD
BECOME STRONG WITH HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. WITH THIS SAID PLAN
TO ADVERTISE MID RANGE (40%) SCATTERED EVENING POPS ALL ZONES WITH
ADDED WORDING FOR SOME STORMS POSSIBLE STRONG.

AFTER THE EVENING CONVECTION FINALLY WINDS DOWN...EXPECT TO SEE
A GOOD DEAL OF DEBRIS CLOUDS WITH ADDITIONAL HIGH CLOUDS COMING IN
OFF THE GULF FROM THE MCS FEATURE OVER THE CENTRAL GULF...SO WILL
WORD FOR CONSIDERABLE HIGH CLOUDS MOST ZONES.

.SHORT TERM(FRI-SAT)...A RATHER COMPLICATED FORECAST SHAPING UP FOR
THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS AN UPSTREAM SHORT WAVE APPROACHES FROM THE NW
AND INVERTED TYPE SURFACE TROUGH OR TROPICAL WAVE MEANDERS WEST-
NORTHWEST OVER THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN AND SERN GULF. MODELS THIS
AFTERNOON CONTINUE TO BE IN FAIR AGREEMENT WITH MOST FEATURES...
HOWEVER THE ETA IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE IN SHOWING SOME DEVELOPMENT OF
THE TROPICAL WAVE OVER THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN/SERN GULF IN 60 HOURS.
GIVEN THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THE UPSTREAM UPPER TROUGH AM INCLINED
TO IGNORE THE ETA SOLUTION FOR NOW AND LEAN TOWARD THE GFS. IN ANY
EVENT WITH DEEP MOISTURE (PWS IN THE 1.8-2+ RANGE) CONTINUING TO
ADVECT NORTH FROM THE CARIBBEAN ON LOW LEVEL SE-SLY WIND FLOW AND
SHORT WAVE ENERGY ADDING ADDITIONAL FOCUS FOR SHOWERS/STORMS IN
ADDITION TO THE SEA BREEZE...WILL ADVERTISE LIKELY CATEGORY POPS FOR
ALL ZONES FOR BOTH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER
AND EXPECTED PRECIPITATION MAX TEMPERATURES THE NEXT FEW DAYS WILL BE
BELOW CLIMO LEVELS WITH MID 80S EXPECTED IN MOST LOCATIONS. GUIDANCE
TEMPS ARE SIMILAR...SO WILL USE A BLEND.

.EXTENDED(SUN-WED)...MAIN MOISTURE AXIS PROGGED TO MOVE SOUTH OF
FORECAST AREA AS PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH MOVES OUT TO SOUTHEAST AND RIDGE
BUILDS IN FROM THE NORTHWEST. STILL THINK ENOUGH MOISTURE LEFT OVER
FOR SCT POPS OVER THE SOUTHERN 2/3RDS OF THE AREA. DRY AIR WILL BE
WELL ESTABLISHED IN MODERATE NORTHEAST FLOW ON MONDAY WITH ONLY REAL
CHANCE OF PRECIP BEING ACROSS SOUTHERN HALF OF AREA...AND THEN ONLY
ISOLATED. GFS KEEPS A SURFACE TROUGH PINNED ACROSS THE BAHAMAS AS THE
STRONG SFC RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD TO THE NORTH. THIS SHOULD ALLOW
FOR PRETTY GOOD LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE...BUT MOISTURE TOO SCARCE TO
SEE ANYTHING ABOVE 20 PERCENT COVERAGE.

TUE-WED A BIT LESS CLEAR AS DEEP MOISTURE AXIS POISED JUST SOUTH OF
THE FORECAST AREA. GFS/MRF DEPICT A PRETTY GOOD BULGE IN THE
MOISTURE/PRECIP FIELDS ALONG THE WEST COAST AS A TROUGH DEVELOPS IN
THE GULF OF MEXICO. JUDGING BY THE STRENGTH OF THE RIDGE...WILL OPT
TO IGNORE THE INCREASE AT THIS TIME AND WAIT FOR ADDITIONAL RUNS TO
SEE HOW THE SITUATION PANS OUT. HAVE DECREASED WIND SPEEDS QUITE A
BIT FROM MODEL GUIDANCE...BUT IF TROUGH DOES DEVELOP IN GULF AS
DEPICTED WE COULD SEE 20+ KTS IN COASTAL WATERS NEXT WEEK.

.MARINE...SOUTHEAST TO SOUTHERLY WIND FLOW 10 KNOTS WILL PREVAIL
THROUGH FRIDAY...THEN BECOMES SOUTHWEST ON SATURDAY IN ADVANCE OF THE
SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN PENINSULA LATE IN THE
DAY. AS THE FRONT MOVES SOUTH WINDS WILL SHIFT INTO THE NW AND NORTH.
ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY A NORTHEAST WIND FLOW WILL PREVAIL AS THE FRONT
GET HUNG UP OVER THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA AND STRAITS AND STRONG
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SEWD FROM THE PLAINS TO THE MID ATLANTIC
BRIDGES ACROSS THE FRONT. SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY THE GFS CONTINUES TO
SHOW WINDS/SEAS NEARING SCEC LEVELS ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN WAKE OF
THE FRONT...HOWEVER SEEING THAT THIS IS BIAS OF THE GFS...WILL KEEP
WIND/SEAS JUST UNDER ADVISORY CRITERIA FOR NOW AND WILL ADVERTISE
WINDS 15 KNOTS.

.FIRE WEATHER...NO CONCERNS.

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BKV 072/086 073/085 4547
TPA 075/086 075/085 4647
SRQ 074/085 074/085 4647
GIF 073/086 074/085 4647
FMY 073/086 074/086 4647

.TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

MCMICHAEL/JILLSON
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 25, 5:45 AM EDT, 11 hours 6 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-251500-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
545 AM EDT THU SEP 25 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

...A FEW STRONG STORMS FROM TAMPA BAY THROUGH FORT MYERS THIS
AFTERNOON...

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THROUGH NOON...GENERALLY FROM
SARASOTA THROUGH FORT MYERS WEST INTO THE NEARSHORE WATERS.  THESE
STORMS WILL CONTAIN OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING AND A BRIEF DOWNPOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE SCATTERED AFTERNOON MAINLY SOUTH OF A
PINELLAS TO POLK COUNTY LINE.  BETWEEN 3 AND 6 PM...STORMS WILL
BECOME NUMEROUS MAINLY SOUTH OF SARASOTA WHERE THE SEA BREEZE
COLLISIONS ACT ON A MOIST ATMOSPHERE.  ONLY SCATTERED STORMS ARE
EXPECTED NORTH OF SARASOTA.

IN ALL AREAS...STRONGER STORMS WILL CONTAIN FREQUENT CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING...TORRENTIAL RAINS REDUCING VISIBILITY BELOW 1
MILE...AND WIND GUSTS OF 35 MPH OR GREATER.  THE BEST COVERAGE OF
HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WHERE CLUSTERS OF
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP.

SCATTERED PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE AFTER SUNSET...BUT IS
EXPECTED TO END BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY:

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED BOTH
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS TROPICAL MOISTURE INCREASES OVER THE
PENINSULA.  PRIMARY THREATS WILL CONTINUE TO BE LIGHTNING...GUSTY
WINDS...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.  AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE
RULED OUT...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE COAST WHERE PREVAILING SOUTHEAST
FLOW WILL COLLIDE WITH A WEST GULF SEA BREEZE.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FADE TO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BY SUNDAY AS
A DRIER AIR MASS BEGINS TO PUSH SOUTH FROM THE PANHANDLE.  HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

AREAL SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY.  HOWEVER...SPOTTERS
FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA SOUTH MAY WANT TO SELF ACTIVATE SHOULD
INDIVIDUAL STRONGER CELLS FORM.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)

BSG

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 25, 1:34 PM EDT, 3 hours 17 minutes before
FLZ049>052-251800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
134 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003

...AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE LIGHTNING... GUSTY WINDS AND
SMALL HAIL...

AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING OVER HILLSBOROUGH...
PINELLAS... PASCO AND POLK COUNTIES. AT 140 PM THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORMS WERE JUST SOUTHEAST OF NEW PORT RICHEY EXTENDING
SOUTH OVER NORTHWESTERN HILLSBOROUGH. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS
OVER TAMPA BAY JUST EAST OF MACDILL AFB. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTH AT 10 MPH AND WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...
SMALL HAIL... AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.

BSG
Special weather statement, Sep 25, 3:42 PM EDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Sep 25, 4:44 PM EDT, 7 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 25, 1:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough, Pasco30 min
Sep 25, 2:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPasco31 min
Sep 25, 2:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWSarasota32 min
Sep 25, 2:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 2003Every severe thunderstorm 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.