Flooding in Florida, July 23, 2001

Name: Flooding in Florida, July 23, 2001
Start: 2001-07-23T11:00
End: 2001-07-23T16:00
Location: Florida

July 23, 2001 · NWS TBW · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

6 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.6 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 10:30 AM EST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 10:30 AM EST, 30 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1130 AM EDT MON JUL 23 2001

...WINDS ARE STILL COMING UP AND ARE PRETTY CLOSE TO AVN VALUES.  I
WILL UPDATE THE COASTALS TO INCREASE WINDS.  EVERYTHING ELSE BELOW
IS THE SAME...

BASED ON THE 6Z AVN...HEAVY RAIN WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE AT LEAST
THROUGH TONIGHT AND THE THREAT SHOULD START MARCHING NORTHWARD.
MANY AREAS OVER THE LAST 30 HOURS OR SO FROM BRADENTON SOUTH
THROUGH THE FT MYERS AREAS HAVE REPORTED 7 TO AS HIGH AS NEAR 12
INCHES...RADAR ESTIMATE FROM NEAR PINE ISLAND IN LEE COUNTY.  BASED
ON THE REPORTS WE HAVE GOTTEN IS RADAR ESTIMATES ARE ABOUT 80 PERCENT
OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING REPORTED.  THE RAIN CONTINUES.  WITH THIS
MORNINGS FORECAST UPDATE I WILL EXTEND THE FLOOD WATCH NORTHWARD TO
INCLUDE CITRUS SUMTER AND HERNANDO COUNTIES AS WELL AS ALL AREAS
CURRENTLY IN THE WATCH.

NOW MARINE WISE...WINDS AND SEAS CONTINUE TO BLOW PRETTY HARD.
COMPS BUOYS AS WELL AS THE VENICE CMAN STATION ARE NEAR SUSTAINED
25 KNOTS.  THE AVN HAS THE GRADIENT PICKING UP EVEN FURTHER.  I
WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A HEAVY SURF ADVISORY AND I WILL BUMP UP THE
NUMBERS ON THE ON THE COASTAL FORECAST.  JUST TOOK A CALL FROM
SARASOTA COUNTY...THEY ARE EXPERIENCING MINOR COASTAL FLOODING AND
BEACH EROSION RIGHT NOW...SO I WILL GET THESE PRODUCTS OUT IN JUST
A FEW MINUTES.

.TBW...FLOOD WATCH FLZ042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065 THROUGH
       TUESDAY MORNING.
    ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ830-853-856-873-876 TODAY.
    ...HEAVY SURF ADVISORY GMZ830-853-856-873-876 TODAY.

SOBIEN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Pinellas

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Pinellas forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 27.903, -82.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A slow moving and persistent low pressure system, west of the mouth of Tampa Bay, produced coastal flooding, very heavy rain, sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with occasional higher gusts of up to 50 mph, from Tampa south to Ft. Myers, along the West coast of Florida. Storm tide values ranged from 2.7 feet above mean sea level (MSL) along the coast in Lee county, 3 to 4 feet above MSL in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and southern Pasco counties, to 4.4 feet above MSL in along the Hillsborough county side of Tampa Bay.Near downtown Tampa, Bayshore Boulevard had water covering both the north and south lanes during the early to mid afternoon hours of July 23rd.Barrier islands, from Siesta Key in Sarasota county, north to Anna Maria in Manatee county experienced one to two feet of water along coastal highways, homes and businesses.

Flood, Charlotte

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Flood, Hillsborough

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Flood, Lee

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Flood, Manatee

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Manatee forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Flood, Sarasota

When: July 23, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Sarasota forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, July 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5259944, 5259945, 5259946, 5259947, 5259948, 5259949.