Name: Flash Flood in Florida, September 15, 2001
Start: 2001-09-15T03:20
End: 2001-09-15T06:30
Location: Florida

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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 happened

The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.

Additional heavy rainfall of two to three inches, associated with the outer western bands of Tropical Storm Gabrielle, caused flooding to roadways and residential homes across already saturated soils of Manatee county.

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 Sep 15, 2:55 AM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 2:55 AM EST, 25 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
355 AM EDT SAT SEP 15 2001

GABRIELLE CONTINUED TO MEANDER ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA WITH A
BLOB OF LIGHT TO MODERATE CONVECTION MOVING SOUTH ALONG THE WESTERN
SIDE OF THE STORM.

SURFACE AND BUOY OBSERVATIONS CONTINUE TO VALIDATE THE WIND AND HEAVY
SURF ADVISORIES FOR COASTAL COUNTIES OF WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA FROM
TAMPA NORTHWARD.

THE TAMPA 06Z SKEW-T AND RADAR IMAGERY ANALYSIS CONFIRMED LOW-LEVEL
ATMOSPHERIC WINDS AVERAGED 50 KNOTS FROM 1-5K.

THIS MORNINGS SHORT TERM MODEL SOLUTIONS SOMEWHAT DIVERSE IN THE
PLACEMENT AND OVERALL MOVEMENT OF LOW CENTER. THUS...WILL USE CURRENT
ANALYSIS TRENDS TO FORMULATE SHORT TERM FORECAST ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA.

WILL EXTEND WIND ADVISORY EAST AND SOUTHWARD OVER FORECAST AREA
DUE TO EXPANDING WIND AND PRECIPITATION FIELD THROUGH 11 AM.

TPA 81/68/85/70 7342
FMY 83/70/88/72 7342

.TBW...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE RIVER.
       WIND ADVISORY...CITRUS...SUMTER...HERNANDO...PASCO...
       PINELLAS...HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE...SARASOTA...POLK...
       HARDEE...DESOTO...HIGHLANDS...CHARLOTTE AND LEE COUNTIES
       UNTIL 11 AM.
       HEAVY SURF ADVISORY...CRYSTAL RIVER TO BONITA BEACH THROUGH
       11 AM.

ZALESKI

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:19 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Manatee

When: September 15, 3:20 AM EST to 6:30 AM EST
Where: Manatee County, Anna Maria
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 27.478, -82.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, September 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: 5269847.