Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 92, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

July 30, 2003Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 30, 2003, 1:04 PM EDT for Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 26 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 30, 2003, 1:04 PM EDT (17:04 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 2003, 1:30 PM EDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Polk 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, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 56 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 2003-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1486 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 2003-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -37 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
1486 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
910 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-24 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.

866 
WUUS52 KTBW 301704
SVRTBW
FLC105-301730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
104 PM EDT WED JUL 30 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN POLK COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 130 PM EDT

* AT 104 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...7 MILES
  WEST OF LAKELAND...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT...
  WINSTON.
  LAKELAND.
  CRYSTAL LAKE.

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

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR DAMAGE TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN RUSKIN.

&&

LAT...LON 2810 8207 2792 8206 2794 8183 2814 8186

$$

88

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 30, 9:31 AM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 9:31 AM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
931 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2003

CURRENTLY: EARLY MORNING CONVECTION DISPLACED FARTHER N TODAY...
MAINLY ACROSS THE NATURE COAST AND INTO THE COASTAL WATERS FROM
OFF PINELLAS CO N. JUST A COUPLE OF CELLS NEAR THE COAST S OF
PINELLAS CO.  ELSEWHERE...SKIES ARE MOSTLY SUNNY WITH TEMPS A BIT
WARMER THAN THIS TIME YESTERDAY...ALREADY IN THE L80S.

KTBW SOUNDING ABOUT AS UNSTABLE AS IN RECENT DAYS...THOUGH 500 MB
TEMPS HAVE RISEN SLIGHTLY.

DISC:  STABILIZED AREA TODAY WILL BE ACROSS THE NATURE COAST...
MEANING A LATER INITIATION OF PERHAPS LESSER CONVECTION LATER TODAY
AFTER THIS MORNINGS ACTIVITY FADES.  FARTHER S...EXPECT AN EARLIER
INITIATION (PERHAPS AS SOON AS AROUND LUNCHTIME IN TAMPA BAY) WITH
DEEP LAYERED...THOUGH VERY LIGHT...SW FLOW DRIVING THE ACTIVITY
INLAND BY LATE AFTN.

FOR THE UPDATE...WILL REMOVE MORNING WORDING FROM THE CENTRAL GROUP
BUT PROBABLY LEAVE THE REMAINING ZONES ALONE.  MAX TEMPS MAY BE
SLIGHTLY INHIBITED BY DEBRIS FROM HERNANDO CO N...BUT EXPECT SOME
RECOVERY CLOSE TO FCST VALUES BY LATE AFTN.

MARINE: CONVECTION CAUSING SOME WIND AND SEA FLUCTUATION N OF TAMPA
BAY...OTHERWISE LIGHT WINDS AND SLIGHT SEAS TODAY.

ZONE UPDATE BY 1030 AM.

.TBW...NONE.

88/GOLDSMITH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 30, 5:34 AM EDT, 7 hours 30 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-301530-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
534 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

...MORE ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY...

AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB TO NEAR 90 THIS AFTERNOON...THE ATMOSPHERE
WILL BECOME QUITE UNSTABLE. DURING THIS TIME...THE GULF SEA BREEZE
WILL MOVE INLAND...PROVIDING A FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS.

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.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY:

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EACH DAY AS TYPICAL SUMMERTIME
CONDITIONS PERSIST.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED TODAY. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE REMINDED
TO RELAY ANY REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NWS OFFICE IN
RUSKIN.

ALSHEIMER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 30, 12:35 PM EDT, 29 minutes before
MARINE LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN  FL
1235 PM EDT WED JUL 30 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....MARINE SUBZONE....   GMZ  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ......MARINE ZONE......

1145 AM    HOMOSASSA-WACASASSA       850  WATERSPOUT
07/30/03   TARP SPGS-SUWANNEE 20NM        FOUR SEPARATE WATERSPOUTS
                                          REPORTED APPROXIMATELY 5
                                          MILES NORTHWEST OF SHELL
                                          ISLAND IN EXTREME NORTHWEST
                                          CITRUS COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          GEN PUBLIC MARINER THROUGH
                                          LOCAL MEDIA EVENT LASTED 30
                                          MIN.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 4:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHillsborough33 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.