Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 87, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

July 27, 2003Lee County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 27, 2003, 6:59 PM EDT for Lee County, Florida. It was in force for 31 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
Jul 27, 2003, 6:59 PM EDT (22:59 UTC)
Expired
Jul 27, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lee County, FL

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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 158 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 2003-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1268 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 2003-07-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
1268 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
891 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
28 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.

592 
WUUS52 KTBW 272259
SVRTBW
FLC071-272330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
659 PM EDT SUN JUL 27 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN LEE COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 659 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...OVER
  BONITA SPRINGS...MOVING WEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT...
  BONITA SPRINGS.
  ESTERO.
  BONITA SHORES.
  FORT MYERS BEACH.

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 2631 8170 2649 8170 2652 8199 2629 8199

$$

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 Jul 27, 1:00 PM EDT, 5 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 27, 1:00 PM EDT, 5 hours 59 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
100 PM EDT SUN JUL 27 2003

CURRENT...SATELLITE SHOWED EAST COAST SEA BREEZE WAS GETTING A LATE
START BUT ISOLATED SHOWERS HAD DEVELOPED EAST OF WINTER HAVEN.
GULF COAST SEA BREEZE WAS HUGGING THE COAST. WATER VAPOR SHOWED TUTT
LOW CONTINUES TO PLUG ALONG THRU THE CARRIBEAN WITH KTBW FORECAST
AREA IN NORTHWEST QUADRANT. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THIS
AFTERNOON WILL BE ISOLATED MICROBURST WINDS DUE TO THE DRY AIR ALOFT
ASSOCIATED WITH THE TUTT.

SHORT TERM (TDY THRU TUE)...TUTT LOW MOVES OVER CUBA TONIGHT THEN
ELONGATES INTO THE SOUTHWEST GULF BY TUESDAY. SURFACE HIGH PRES
RIDGE SINKS INTO SOUTHERN FLORIDA AND LOW LEVEL SOUTHWEST FLOW
DEVELOPS. THIS MEANS ISOLATED MORNING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
FLOATING INLAND DURING THE MORNING HOURS. WILL KEEP 40% POPS IN FOR
MONDAY AND 50% TUES AS INFLUENCE OF DRY AIR FROM TUTT LOW BECOMES
LESS.

EXTENDED (WED THRU SUN)...THE SURFACE RIDGE IN SOUTH FL WED LIFTS
BACK NORTH INTO THE SOUTH-CENTRAL CWFA THU AND THE CENTRAL CWFA FOR
FRI-SUN. SCATTERED POPS MAINLY AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING THE
RULE...HOWEVER HIGHEST POPS SHIFT FROM INLAND COAST AS RIDGE AXIS
EASES NORTHWARD. TEMPERATURES TO CONTINUE NEAR NORMAL WITH LOW-MID
70S OVER NIGHT AND HIGHS NEAR-LOWER 90S.

MARINE...WINDS SHIFT BETWEEN SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST AND BACK THRU
THE PERIOD BUT SHOULD BE 10 KTS OR LESS WITH WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.

FIRE WEATHER...NO PROBLEMS.

PRELIM NUMBERS:
TPA 076/091 076/092 077 2425
FMY 075/092 075/092 075 2425
GIF 074/092 074/093 074 2425
SRQ 075/091 074/090 075 2425
BKV 072/091 071/092 072 2425

.TBW...NONE.

NOAH/RR
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 27, 5:32 AM EDT, 13 hours 27 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-271430-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
532 AM EDT SUN JUL 27 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

SCATTERED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AS DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES TO 90 OR ABOVE WILL ACT ON A MOIST ATMOSPHERE. THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ON THE GULF AND EAST COAST SEA
BREEZES...WITH ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE IN LOCATIONS WHERE
THE BOUNDARIES COLLIDE LATE IN THE AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING
HOURS. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL CONTAIN HAIL...HEAVY RAIN IN
EXCESS OF TWO INCHES...AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH OR HIGHER. EXCESSIVE
LIGHTNING IS ALSO EXPECTED WITH A FEW STORMS.

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

WINDS WILL VEER TO THE SOUTHWEST BY EARLY NEXT WEEK AS LARGE UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH MOVES INTO THE EASTERN QUARTER OF THE U.S. THIS WILL
BRING LATE MORNING STORMS TO THE COAST AND SCATTERED STORMS IN THE
AFTERNOON OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE REMINDED TO RELAY ANY REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER TO THE NWS OFFICE IN RUSKIN.

ALSHEIMER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 27, 6:20 PM EDT, 39 minutes before
FLZ051-055-060-272300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
620 PM EDT SUN JUL 27 2003

...STRONG WINDS WILL AFFECT HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE AND SARASOTA COUNTIES...

AT 617 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
BROKEN LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM JUST EAST OF
BRANDON...SOUTHWARD TO NEAR SUN CITY CENTER...CONTINUING SOUTHWARD
THROUGH CENTRAL MANATEE COUNTY AND NORTHERN SARASOTA COUNTY. THE
LINE OF STORMS WAS MOVING WEST AROUND 10 MPH.

THROUGH 7 PM...IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY...THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
AFFECT VALRICO...BRANDON...BLOOMINGDALE...RIVERVIEW...SUN CITY
CENTER AND RUSKIN. ACROSS MANATEE COUNTY...THE STORMS WILL AFFECT
PARRISH... AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF BRADENTON. IN SARASOTA
COUNTY...THE STORMS WILL AFFECT SARASOTA AND VENICE.

THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS GUSTS
OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

MORALES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 7:00 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW30 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.