Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

March 14, 2003Highlands County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 14, 2003, 5:36 PM EST for Highlands County, Florida. It was in force for 39 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
Mar 14, 2003, 5:36 PM EST (22:36 UTC)
Expired
Mar 14, 2003, 6:15 PM EST
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Highlands County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:39 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, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 99 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 2003-03-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1335 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 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.

263 
WUUS52 KTBW 142236
SVRTBW
FLC055-142315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
536 PM EST FRI MAR 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN HIGHLANDS COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 615 PM EST

* AT 536 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL...OVER SEBRING.  THE STORM WAS
  NEARLY STATIONARY.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT...
  SEBRING.

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

FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE
INDOORS IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT USE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES OR TELEPHONES.

&&

LAT...LON 2743 8149 2741 8136 2755 8136 2756 8146

$$

23

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 Mar 14, 3:30 PM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 3:30 PM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
330 PM EST FRI MAR 14 2003

CURRENTLY...ANOTHER QUIET AFTERNOON WITH A LOT OF DEBRIS CLOUDS FROM
CONVECTION OUT OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO.  WEST COAST SEA BREEZE HAS
BEGUN TO PUSH INLAND AND STILL EXPECT AN EAST COAST/WEST COAST SEA
BREEZE COLLISION OVER INTERIOR COUNTIES THIS EVENING WITH A COUPLE
OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE.

TON-SUN...UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL
CONTINUE TO DRIFT EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES TONIGHT SATURDAY
NIGHT.  ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL OVERSPREAD THE FORECAST AREA
OVERNIGHT WITH SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT AS VORT ENERGY WRAPS AROUND UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEM.  HIGHEST POPS WILL REMAIN OVER NORTHERN ZONES TONIGHT.
LIKELY POPS ALL ZONES ON SATURDAY AS DEEPEST MOISTURE SHIFTS ACROSS
THE AREA.  18Z MESOETA IS INDICATING THAT BEST CHANCES OF RAIN WILL
BE LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING WITH SOMEWHAT DRIER AIR IN
THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS MOVING IN DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.  STILL SHOULD BE ENOUGH MOISTURE AROUND TO SEE SCATTERED
CONVECTION INTO SATURDAY EVENING...ESPECIALLY OVER INLAND AREAS.
ON SUNDAY...EXPECT TO SEE MORE SCATTERED DIURNAL CONVECTION AS SEA
BREEZE MOVES INLAND WITH BEST COVERAGE ONCE AGAIN OVER INLAND AREAS.

MON-FRI...SUBTROPICAL RIDGE FROM THE BAHAMAS THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
SHOWS LITTLE SIGN OF BUDGING THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK.  CUTOFF 500
MB LOW BECOMES ABSORBED IN W FLOW AS IT SHOOTS THROUGH THE MID ATLC
STATES MON...BUT PLENTY OF SW FLOW REMAINS BEHIND IT.  GFS CONTINUES
TO HAVE PROBLEMS RESOLVING MID WEEK SPRING STORM ACROSS THE NATIONS
MIDSECTION...BUT ITS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES TO BRIEFLY BUMP UP THE
SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TUE THROUGH EARLY WED.  UNLIKE YESTERDAYS RUNS...
THE APPROACHING TROUGH NOW GETS QUICKLY DAMPENED THU/FRI...WITH
ONLY A SLIGHT FLATTENING OF THE PERSISTENT RIDGE.

WX WISE...EXPECT A CONTINUATION OF WARM/HUMID WX MON-FRI WITH ISOLD-
SCT PCPN JUST ABOUT EACH DAY.  FEWER CLOUDS ARE LIKELY TUE AS UPPER
RIDGE BRIEFLY BUILDS.  12Z GFS NOW TRYING TO CLEAR THINGS OUT AGAIN
BY THE END OF THE PERIOD...BUT THIS WAS THE SOLUTION YESTERDAY (FOR
NEXT THURS) AND WONT BUY IT UNTIL SOME RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY
DEVELOPS.

MARINE...WINDS WILL BECOME EAST TONIGHT AND THEN VEER AROUND TO THE
SOUTHEAST SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN SOUTHWEST SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVES BY TO THE NORTH OF THE REGION.  WINDS WILL
THEN BECOME RATHER LIGHT AND VARIABLE SATURDAY NIGHT AND GENERALLY
SOUTHWEST ON SUNDAY AS RIDGE AXIS STRENGTHENS TO THE SOUTH WITH
ANOTHER SURFACE LOW MOVING OUT OF THE GULF OF MEXICO INTO THE
SOUTHERN U.S.

FIRE WEATHER...NO HIGHLIGHTS.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
BKV 064/080 060/082 7732
TPA 068/079 067/081 4732
GIF 067/081 066/083 3733
SRQ 067/079 066/081 4732
FMY 068/083 067/084 2632

.TBW...NONE.

PRC/BSG
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 14, 6:14 AM EST, 11 hours 22 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-141630-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
614 AM EST FRI MAR 14 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

...SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...

PATCHY EARLY MORNING FOG WILL PREVAIL THROUGHOUT WEST PENINSULA
FLORIDA THIS MORNING WITH SUDDEN VISIBILITY RESTRICTIONS TO LOCALLY
ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS. FOG WILL LIFT 8 TO 9 AM.

WITH THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE...SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AFTER 1 PM WITH
POSSIBLE STRONG STORMS OVER MAINLY THE INLAND PORTIONS OF THE
PENINSULA MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS IS PROBABLE
LATER TONIGHT. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE THE MAIN THREATS
WITH ISOLATED STRONGER STORMS. MOVEMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE TO
THE EAST.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
POSSIBLE WATCHES OR WARNINGS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY:

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE PROBABLE DURING SATURDAY.
POSSIBLE HAIL AND ISOLATED DAMAGING WINDS APPEAR TO BE THE PRIMARY
SEVERE THREATS WITH THIS ACTIVITY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 14, 6:25 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands50 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.