Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 2014

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

April 18, 2014Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 18, 2014, 2:11 PM EDT for Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 19 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 18, 2014, 2:11 PM EDT (18:11 UTC)
Expired: Apr 18, 2014, 2:30 PM EDT
In force: 19 min
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Pinellas County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:10 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 18, 2:17 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	5 W Downtown Saint Pete, FL	SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORTS POWER LINES DOWN NEAR COUNTRY CLUB RD NORTH AND 11 AVE NORTH

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 18, 1:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 25 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: 527 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 197 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 259 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

185 
WFUS52 KTBW 181811
TORTBW
FLC103-181830-
/O.NEW.KTBW.TO.W.0005.140418T1811Z-140418T1830Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
211 PM EDT FRI APR 18 2014

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN PINELLAS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...DOWNTOWN SAINT PETERSBURG...SAINT
  PETERSBURG...

* UNTIL 230 PM EDT

* AT 212 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  WATERSPOUT NEAR PINELLAS POINT...OR NEAR SAINT PETERSBURG...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ALBERT WHITTED AIRPORT...VINOY PARK...DOWNTOWN SAINT PETERSBURG AND
  TROPICANA FIELD BY 220 PM EDT...
  VENETIAN ISLES...SAWGRASS LAKE PARK...LEALMAN AND SNELL ISLE BY 225
  PM EDT...

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 275 BETWEEN EXITS 6 AND 32.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...AS WATERSPOUTS MOVE ASHORE THEY BECOME TORNADOES AND
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA.

&&

LAT...LON 2790 8263 2788 8261 2788 8257 2786 8259
      2781 8257 2778 8261 2774 8261 2769 8264
      2770 8267 2772 8271 2773 8271 2775 8275
TIME...MOT...LOC 1812Z 214DEG 28KT 2772 8267

$$

MCKAUGHAN

1 follow-up statement

562 
WWUS52 KTBW 181818
SVSTBW

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
218 PM EDT FRI APR 18 2014

FLC103-181828-
/O.CAN.KTBW.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-140418T1830Z/
PINELLAS FL-
218 PM EDT FRI APR 18 2014

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN PINELLAS COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...

ALTHOUGH THE TORNADO HAS LIFTED THIS STORM MAY CONTINUE TO PRODUCE
STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAIN...AND SMALL HAIL UNTIL IT FULLY
DISSIPATES.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA.

LAT...LON 2790 8263 2788 8261 2788 8257 2786 8259
      2781 8257 2778 8261 2774 8261 2769 8264
      2770 8267 2772 8271 2773 8271 2775 8275
TIME...MOT...LOC 1818Z 214DEG 28KT 2776 8264

$$

MCKAUGHAN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 17, 11:50 PM EDT	Small Craft Advisory	TBW		41 hr
Apr 18, 10:20 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	TBW		55 min
Apr 18, 12:46 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	TBW		59 min
Apr 18, 1:42 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	TBW		93 min
Apr 18, 2:04 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	TBW	Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas	56 min
Apr 18, 2:23 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	TBW	Hillsborough	22 min
Apr 18, 3:01 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	TBW	Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Polk, Sumter	59 min
Apr 18, 3:42 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	TBW	Sumter	48 min
Apr 18, 4:19 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	TBW	Highlands, Polk	56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 2014 Every tornado warning in 2014 Tornadoes 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.