Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

August 13, 2004Highlands County, Polk County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Aug 13, 2004, 1:15 PM EDT for Highlands County, Polk County, Florida. It was in force for 30 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
Aug 13, 2004, 1:15 PM EDT (17:15 UTC)
Expired
Aug 13, 2004, 1:45 PM EDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Highlands County, FL, Polk County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:16 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 13, 7:30 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC10 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 84 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 2004-08-13Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2004-08-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -160 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-117 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.

000 
WFUS52 KTBW 131715
TORTBW
FLC055-105-131745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
115 PM EDT FRI AUG 13 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL POLK COUNTY IN FLORIDA.
  NORTHWESTERN HIGHLANDS COUNTY IN FLORIDA.

* UNTIL 145 PM EDT

* AT 115 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER AVON PARK...MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT...
  AVON PARK.
  FROSTPROOF.
  LAKE WALES.
  CYPRESS GARDENS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM MOVE INTO THE INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD AND
BODY WITH PILLOWS OR BLANKETS.

IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...MOVE INTO A STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...
SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH...OR LOW SPOT...AND COVER YOUR HEAD
WITH YOUR HANDS.


&&

LAT...LON 2756 8157 2760 8138 2809 8150 2803 8174

$$

25

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 13, 1:39 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW51 min
Aug 13, 2:47 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW58 min
Aug 13, 4:02 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW58 min
Aug 13, 4:02 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW58 min
Aug 13, 5:00 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW60 min
Aug 13, 11:52 AM EDTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Highlands23 min
Aug 13, 12:21 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHighlands24 min
Aug 13, 12:47 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWPolk28 min
Aug 13, 1:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWPolk25 min
Aug 13, 1:57 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWPolk33 min
Aug 13, 2:10 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWSumter35 min
Aug 13, 2:49 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto26 min
Aug 13, 3:12 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto, Hardee33 min
Aug 13, 3:14 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHighlands31 min
Aug 13, 3:23 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningTBW67 min
Aug 13, 3:27 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWManatee, Sarasota33 min
Aug 13, 3:41 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Highlands34 min
Aug 13, 4:01 PM EDTTornado WarningTBWPolk29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.