Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS Tampa Bay, FL
NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2003, 5:01 PM EDT for Hillsborough County, Florida. It was in force for 29 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2003, 5:01 PM EDT (21:01 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2003, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 29 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tampa Bay, FL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Hillsborough County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:01 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 35 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 858 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -71 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1039 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -13 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 50 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KTBW 172101 SVRTBW FLC057-172130- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 500 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRAL HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IN FLORIDA. * UNTIL 530 PM EDT * AT 500 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...OVER TEMPLE TERRACE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT... EAST LAKE ORIENT PARK. MANGO. SEFFNER. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR HIGHER...AND HAIL THE SIZE OF PENNIES OR LARGER. MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. && LAT...LON 2814 8233 2803 8248 2781 8232 2795 8212 $$ 69
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 17, 12:36 PM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 17, 12:36 PM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 1236 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003 A PATTERN CHANGE IS IN THE OFFING. FIRST A DEEP LAYER CUT OFF LOW OVER THE MIDWEST WILL DRIFT SOUTH INTO THE CENTRAL GULF. WE WILL BE ON THE DIFFLUENT SIDE...ALOFT...OF THE LOW...PLUS IT WILL PULL A LITTLE COOLER AIR...AGAIN ALOFT...SOUTHWARD DESTABILIZING THE ATMOSPHERE. THIS WILL REALLY START TO INFLUENCE OUR WEATHER ON SUNDAY AND EVEN MORE SO MONDAY. AT THE SAME TIME THE SURFACE RIDGE LIFTS NORTHWARD PUTTING US IN LIGHT LOW LEVEL EASTERLY FLOW. THE SUM OF THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF OUR SUMMER AFTERNOON SHOWERS OR AT LEAST A COUPLE DAYS OF THEM. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A FEW DEGREES COOLER WITH THE INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND INCREASE IN COOLING RAINS. BY MIDWEEK THE UPPER LOW STARTS TO BECOME LESS OF A PLAYER AS IT DRIFTS SOUTH INTO THE YUCATAN CHANNEL AND A RIDGE BUILDS IN ALOFT. A SURFACE THROUGH DIGS INTO GEORGIA WHICH WILL SWITCH LOW LEVEL FLOW BACK TO WESTERLY KEEPING AFTERNOON CONVECTION INLAND. THE RIDGE ALOFT BREAKS DOWN BY THE END WEEK AND THE FRONT SINKS SOUTHWARD. SLIGHTLY COOLER...BUT MAINLY DRIER AIR WILL SETTLE INTO THE AREA FOR THE WEEKEND. MARINE WISE WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND MAINLY OFFSHORE AT LEAST EARLY ON. NO PROBLEMS ARE ANTICIPATED. FOR FIRE WEATHER...TEMPERATURES WILL BE A LITTLE LOWER AND THERE WILL BE INCREASED RAIN COVERAGE. THERE WILL BE NO HIGHLIGHTS. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS TPA 074/090 072/089 1425 FMY 073/091 072/090 2435 GIF 073/091 071/090 2425 SRQ 074/090 074/088 2425 BKV 068/091 069/090 1425 .TBW...NONE. SOBIEN
Hazardous weather outlook, May 17, 6:00 AM EDT, 11 hours 1 minute before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-171545- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 600 AM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY... INCREASED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE... INSTABILITY AND THE AFTERNOON SEABREEZE WILL GENERATE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER INLAND AREAS TODAY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. WHEN SKIES DARKEN...MOVE INDOORS. UNPLUG AND DO NOT USE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY: SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY ACROSS THE AREA. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 17, 4:36 PM EDT, 25 minutes before
FLZ052-172115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 436 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN POLK COUNTY... TWO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER EASTERN POLK COUNTY. ONE WAS JUST NORTH OF HAINES CITY OVER THE DAVENPORT AREA...ANOTHER WAS BETWEEN FROSTPROOF AND FORT MEADE. BOTH STORMS WERE MOVING VERY LITTLE. THROUGH 515 PM...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS OF UP TO 40 MPH...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF UP TO 2 INCHES WILL BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. THE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE PONDING OF WATER IN LOW LYING...POORLY DRAINED AREAS. MORALES
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.