High Wind in Florida, April 13, 2004

Name: High Wind in Florida, April 13, 2004
Start: 2004-04-13T01:37
End: 2004-04-13T03:54
Location: Florida

April 13, 2004 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $300,000
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 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 12, 6:56 PM EST, 6 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 6:56 PM EST, 6 hours 41 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
756 PM EDT MON APR 12 2004

LARGE AREA OF ANVIL RAIN BREAKING UP AS IT MOVES INTO THE STABLE
AIR OVER THE CWA. STILL SOME LOCALLY MODERATE SHOWERS...BUT EXPECT NO
WORSE FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS. STILL...WILL INCREASE COVERAGE TO
CATEGORICAL EVERYWHERE.

HEAVIER CONVECTION SHOULD APPROACH THE COAST AGAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT
OVER THE NORTH TO THE MORNING HOURS OVER THE SOUTH. DYNAMICS WILL
BE VERY STRONG...BUT INSTABILITY IS QUESTIONABLE. ISOLATED SEVERE
AGAIN NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION...BUT MAIN IMPACT WILL BE MORE MUCH
NEEDED RAIN.

&&

.MARINE...WINDS AT BUOY 42036 INTO SCA CATEGORY AHEAD OF THE NEW
LINE DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTHEASTERN GULF. WILL UPGRADE NORTHERN
LEGS TO A SCA WITH THE EVENING UPDATE.

&&

.TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE RIVER OUT TO 60 NM

ALSHEIMER

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 12, 3:40 AM EST, 21 hours 57 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
440 AM EDT MON APR 12 2004

FLZ039-042-043-048-121500-
CITRUS-HERNANDO-LEVY-SUMTER-
440 AM EDT MON APR 12 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR FLORIDAS NATURE COAST.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT:

THIS MORNING:  A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED.  THESE STORMS WILL
PRODUCE OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE WIND GUSTS
UP TO 30 MPH ALONG WITH SOME HEAVY RAINS.

TONIGHT:  SCATTERED TO POSSIBLY NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP
AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES.  STRONGER STORMS MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS
OF 40 MPH OR MORE...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF
TORRENTIAL RAINS.

IF STORMS APPROACH...SEEK SAFETY INDOORS.  IF THERE IS TIME...UNPLUG
APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE
USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
UPDATES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY:

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY TUESDAY...OTHERWISE NO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

&&

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)

FLZ049>052-055>057-060>062-065-121500-
CHARLOTTE-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-LEE-MANATEE-PASCO-
PINELLAS-POLK-SARASOTA-
440 AM EDT MON APR 12 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TAMPA BAY AREA TO LAKELAND
AND POINTS SOUTH.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT:

...LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FOR THIS MORNINGS COMMUTE...
...MORE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TONIGHT...

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ONSHORE BETWEEN 530 AND 7 AM...THEN
CONTINUE QUICKLY THROUGH INTERIOR COUNTIES BY 8 AM.  RESIDENTS WILL
EXPERIENCE UP TO AN HOUR OF TORRENTIAL RAINS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AS THE STORMS PASS.  STRONGER STORMS MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS
OF 40 MPH AS WELL AS EXCESSIVE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.

CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE LATER THIS MORNING IN ALL AREAS...THOUGH
ADDITIONAL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN
CHARLOTTE...LEE...DESOTO...AND HIGHLANDS COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON.

BY TONIGHT...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AS A COLD FRONT
APPROACHES.  STRONGER STORMS OVERNIGHT MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 40
MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF TORRENTIAL
RAINS.

IF STORMS APPROACH...SEEK SAFETY INDOORS.  IF THERE IS TIME...UNPLUG
APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE
USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
POSSIBLE WARNINGS AND ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY:

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY
AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.  BY TUESDAY
NIGHT...GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OVER THE GULF MAY PRODUCE
LOCALLY ROUGH SURF AND HIGH SEAS ALONG THE BARRIER ISLAND BEACHES
FROM PINELLAS THROUGH LEE COUNTIES.  THESE CONDITIONS MAY PERSIST
INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY BEFORE SUBSIDING.

THEREAFTER...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THROUGH MID MORNING TODAY AND
POSSIBLY OVERNIGHT.

&&

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)

BSG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 12, 8:04 PM EST, 5 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
904 PM EDT MON APR 12 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0206 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND CLEARWATER              27.96N 82.77W
04/12/2004  41 MPH           PINELLAS           FL   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            REPORTED BY PIE ASOS.

0137 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND SAINT PETERSBURG        27.76N 82.67W
04/12/2004  50 MPH           PINELLAS           FL   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            REPORTED BY SPG ASOS

1219 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND SARASOTA                27.34N 82.55W
04/12/2004  41 MPH           SARASOTA           FL   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            REPORTED BY SRQ ASOS

&&

XXX

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Lee

When: April 13, 1:37 AM EST to 3:54 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $300,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An eastward moving thundertsorm complex in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico collapsed as it moved north of the Florida Keys. The cold outflow left over from the storm created wind gusts of 40 to 50 knots along the coastal areas of southwest Florida. Winds at the Fort Myers Southwest Florida Regional Airport were sustained from 30 to 36 knots with the peak gust of 50 knots occurring at 3:17 AM EST. A 737 plane was pushed into a jetway bridge and damaged both the wing and the bridge. Emergency Management said the winds mostly uprooted trees and downed power lines. Cape Coral city officials estimated $63,450 in damage to roofs, carports, lanais, and other structures. The winds ripped the metal roof off an airplane hangar at the Pine Island Airport near Bokeella. Utility officials said Tuesday's winds left about 27,000 Lee County residents without power. Minor beach erosion occurred at Fort Myers Beach, Lovers Key State Park, and Bonita Beach. The gusty winds reached as far north as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the Tampa Bay area where where sustained winds of around 30 knots with gusts to 38 knots were reported between 3:52 AM EST to about 5:15 AM EST. No significant damage was reported north of Lee County.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, April 2004

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: 5394024.