Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2014

Rip Current Statement 40, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

December 25, 20146 counties in Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this rip current statement at Dec 25, 2014, 3:13 AM EST for 6 counties in Florida. It took effect at Dec 25, 2014, 8:00 AM EST. It was in force for 11 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 25, 2014, 3:13 AM EST (08:13 UTC)
In effect from: Dec 25, 2014, 8:00 AM EST
Expired: Dec 25, 2014, 7:00 PM EST
In force: 11 hr
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL

Counties Charlotte County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Lee County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Sarasota County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:13 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 nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 43 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1419 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 648 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.2
Supercell composite: 9.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

040 
WHUS42 KTBW 250813
CFWTBW

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
313 AM EST THU DEC 25 2014

...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY...

.WHILE NORTHWEST WIND ARE BECOMING NORTHERLY AND DECREASING THERE
WILL STILL BE ENOUGH WAVE ENERGY REACHING AREA BEACHES TO CREATE A
RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.

FLZ050-151-155-160-162-165-260000-
/O.NEW.KTBW.RP.S.0040.141225T1300Z-141226T0000Z/
PINELLAS-COASTAL HILLSBOROUGH-COASTAL MANATEE-COASTAL SARASOTA-
COASTAL CHARLOTTE-COASTAL LEE-
313 AM EST THU DEC 25 2014

...RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM EST THIS MORNING THROUGH
THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A RIP
CURRENT RISK...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM EST THIS MORNING
THROUGH THIS EVENING. 

* TIMING...THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING.

* IMPACTS...HAZARDOUS RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...
JETTIES AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH
PATROL. PAY ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS. 

IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT. EVEN A STRONG
SWIMMER CAN BECOME EXHAUSTED QUICKLY.

&&

$$


HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TAMPA

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Florida, 2014 Every rip current statement in 2014

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.