Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2015

Rip Current Statement 4, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

January 18, 20156 counties in Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this rip current statement at Jan 18, 2015, 3:54 AM EST for 6 counties in Florida. It took effect at Jan 18, 2015, 7:00 AM EST. It was in force for 12 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jan 18, 2015, 3:54 AM EST (08:54 UTC)
In effect from: Jan 18, 2015, 7:00 AM EST
Expired: Jan 18, 2015, 7:00 PM EST
In force: 12 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 08:52 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, 8.9 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1637 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 170 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.

617 
WHUS42 KTBW 180854
CFWTBW

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
354 AM EST SUN JAN 18 2015

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

.A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA CAUSING WINDS TO TURN TO
THE NORTHWEST AND BECOME GUSTY FOR LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS
AFTERNOON. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT
AREA BEACHES. 

FLZ050-151-155-160-162-165-190000-
/O.NEW.KTBW.RP.S.0004.150118T1200Z-150119T0000Z/
PINELLAS-COASTAL HILLSBOROUGH-COASTAL MANATEE-COASTAL SARASOTA-
COASTAL CHARLOTTE-COASTAL LEE-
354 AM EST SUN JAN 18 2015

...RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM 7 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 7 AM EST THIS MORNING
THROUGH THIS EVENING. 

* TIMING...TODAY.

* 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, 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.