Florida, 2003

Damaging Wind in Florida, April 26, 2003

April 26, 2003 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
None recorded
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 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 Apr 25, 8:22 PM EST, 5 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 8:22 PM EST, 5 hours 18 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
922 PM EDT FRI APR 25 2003

LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO DRIFT SLOWLY SOUTH INTO CENTRAL
ZONES...BUT APPEARS TO BE RUNNING OUT OF GAS.  OUTFLOW HAS MOVED
OUT WELL SOUTH OF STORMS WITH NEW CONVECTION DEVELOPING BEHIND IT.
STORMS OVER INTERIOR COUNTIES CONTINUING TO MOVE EAST SOUTHEAST
WHILE CONVECTION ALONG AND OFF COAST MOVING BACK TO NORTHEAST.  SO
IT WOULD APPEAR THAT STORMS WILL NOT MAKE IT MUCH FURTHER SOUTH
DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  STORMS HAVE PRODUCED SOME LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH RADAR ESTIMATES OVER 3 INCHES IN A FEW SPOTS.
TAMPA INTERNATIONAL HAS ALREADY SET A NEW RECORD DAILY RAINFALL FOR
TODAY WITH OVER 1.51 INCHES AS OF 9 PM...OLD RECORD WAS 1.23 INCHES
SET IN 1991...AND MORE RAIN STILL TO COME.

LATEST RUC INDICATES CURRENT VORT MAX MOVING ACROSS FLORIDA THIS
EVENING MOVING EAST OUT INTO ATLANTIC OVERNIGHT WHILE ANOTHER ONE
APPROACHES AND MOVES ACROSS THE PENINSULA LATE TONIGHT.  MORE
CONVECTION STILL OUT OVER GULF MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AND WITH NEXT
SLIGHTLY WEAKER VORT MAX MOVING EAST LATER TONIGHT...WILL LEAVE
CHANCE POPS IN FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES OVERNIGHT.  WILL LEAVE
SLIGHT CHANCE DOWN SOUTH AS NEXT VORT MAX MAY HELP TO PUSH ACTIVITY A
LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH LATE TONIGHT.  WILL ALSO NOT UPDATE ZONES UNTIL
ABOUT 11 PM AND WATCH RADAR TRENDS FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR SO.

WINDS OVER COASTAL WATERS FROM ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS THANKS TO
STORMS...BUT SHOULD SETTLE DOWN AND COME BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH
OVER ENTIRE AREA LATER TONIGHT.  WILL DROP SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE
CAUTION AND MAKE SOME OTHER MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO MARINE FORECAST FOR
EVENING UPDATE.

.TBW...NONE.

PRC
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 25, 10:30 AM EST, 15 hours 10 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048-049-252130-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1130 AM EDT FRI APR 25 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

A STRONG TO SEVERE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CROSSING THE FLORIDA
PANHANDLE AND THE FAR NORTHERN GULF WILL APPROACH THE NATURE COAST
THIS AFTERNOON. WHILE THE LINE IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN SOME THIS
AFTERNOON...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE. THE
STRONGEST STORMS WILL CONTAIN FREQUENT TO EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING AND
GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH.

WHEN SKIES DARKEN...MOVE INDOORS. IF THERE IS TIME...UNPLUG
APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE
USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY:

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON IF THE
THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS INCREASES.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 25, 10:20 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
MARINE LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN  FL
1120 PM EDT FRI APR 25 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....MARINE SUBZONE....   GMZ  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ......MARINE ZONE......

1102 PM    TAMPA BAY                 830  34 KT MARINE TSTM WIND
04/25/03   TAMPA BAY WATERS               REPORTED BY COASTAL
                                          AIRPORT ALBERT WHITTED
                                          ALONG THE WEST SHORE OF THE
                                          BAY.

1106 PM    OLD TAMPA BAY             830  38 KT MARINE TSTM WIND
04/25/03   TAMPA BAY WATERS               MARINE OBS STATION AT
                                          SAINT PETERSBURG REPORTED.

BSG
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 11:16 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
FLZ051-052-055-056-260515-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1216 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2003

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH...WILL AFFECT AREAS
NEAR FORT LONESOME...DUETTE...BOWLING GREEN...AND FORT MEADE...UNTIL
115 AM EDT. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH AND EXCESSIVE CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED. IF OUTSIDE...CROUCH DOWN IN A LOW SPOT...AWAY
FROM TALL OBJECTS. IF INDOORS...REFRAIN FROM USING ELECTRICAL
APPLIANCES. RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL OCCUR.
MOTORISTS CAN EXPECT PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS...AND MINOR FLOODING
OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sarasota

When
April 26, 1:40 AM EST to 2:00 AM EST
Where
Sarasota County, 5 mi SE of Sarasota
Measured
55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates
27.283, -82.483

Local utility reported numerous trees and power lines down.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 2003

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: 5354071.