Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2015

Rip Current Statement 16, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

July 18, 20155 counties in Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this rip current statement at Jul 18, 2015, 4:39 AM EDT for 5 counties in Florida. It took effect at Jul 18, 2015, 6:00 AM EDT. It was in force for 14 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jul 18, 2015, 4:39 AM EDT (08:39 UTC)
In effect from: Jul 18, 2015, 6:00 AM EDT
Expired: Jul 18, 2015, 8:01 PM EDT
In force: 14 hr
Issued by: NWS Tampa Bay, FL

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

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:39 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, 8.7 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-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: 916 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 59 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.

662 
WHUS42 KTBW 180839
CFWTBW

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
439 AM EDT SAT JUL 18 2015

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK AT AREA BEACHES TODAY...

.PERSISTENT SOUTHWEST WINDS OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO
WILL RESULT IN A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS THROUGH THIS EVENING
ALONG AREA BEACHES.

FLZ050-155-160-162-165-190300-
/O.NEW.KTBW.RP.S.0016.150718T1000Z-150719T0300Z/
PINELLAS-COASTAL MANATEE-COASTAL SARASOTA-COASTAL CHARLOTTE-
COASTAL LEE-
439 AM EDT SAT JUL 18 2015

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK...WHICH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING. 

* RIP CURRENT TIMING...THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.

* RIP CURRENT IMPACTS...HIGH RISK OF LIFE THREATENING RIP
  CURRENTS.

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

1 follow-up statement

702 
WHUS42 KTBW 190001
CFWTBW

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
801 PM EDT SAT JUL 18 2015

...RISK OF DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS SUBSIDING...

.WESTERLY FLOW HAS DIMINISHED RESULTING IN SUBSIDING SEAS OVER THE
EASTERN GULF WATERS.

FLZ050-155-160-162-165-190115-
/O.CAN.KTBW.RP.S.0016.000000T0000Z-150719T0300Z/
PINELLAS-COASTAL MANATEE-COASTAL SARASOTA-COASTAL CHARLOTTE-
COASTAL LEE-
801 PM EDT SAT JUL 18 2015

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY RUSKIN HAS CANCELLED
THE HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK. 

LIGHTER WINDS AND SUBSIDING SEAS IS LESSENING THE THREAT OF
DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES. 

$$

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TAMPA

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Florida, 2015 Every rip current statement in 2015

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.