Damaging Wind in Florida, February 24, 2004

Name: Damaging Wind in Florida, February 24, 2004
Start: 2004-02-24T13:00
End: 2004-02-24T13:00
Location: Florida

February 24, 2004 · 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: $40,000
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 Feb 24, 10:43 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 10:43 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1043 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

UPDATED ZONES AND COASTALS AGAIN TO INCLUDE TORNADO WATCH. ALSO
LOWERED MAX TEMPS A BIT IN THE NORTH WITH COOL POOL DEVELOPING
NORTH OF CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW.

LOTS OF THINGS TO LOOK AT THIS MORNING. OVER THE NORTH...QUASI-
STATIONARY BOUNDARY IS FOCUS FOR CONVECTION...WHICH CONTINUES TO
TRAIN OVER HERNANDO COUNTY...FED BY MOIST...SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL
FLOW. BOUNDARY WILL WAFFLE AROUND A LITTLE THIS AFTERNOON...BUT
SHOULD NOT MOVE A WHOLE LOT IN EITHER DIRECTION. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
TO CONTINUE AS SATELLITE SHOWS ACTIVITY CONTINUING TO FORM ALONG
THE BOUNDARY OVER THE EASTERN GULF AND MOVE EASTWARD.

FOR THE CENTRAL FA...LARGE BATCH OF LOW CLOUDS OVER THE GULF IS
MOVING ONSHORE AND SHOULD BE FAIRLY STUBBORN THIS AFTERNOON. MOSTLY
CLOUDY LOOKS GOOD WITH MORE BREAKS INLAND THAN NEAR THE COAST.

DOWN SOUTH...MORE SUNSHINE WILL LET TEMPS SHOOT UP INTO THE 80S
AWAY FROM THE COAST.

OVERALL...CURRENT ZONES LOOK PRETTY GOOD. NO CHANGES PLANNED.

SEVERE THREAT...HAVE HAD BRIEF PERIODS OF ROTATION WITH STORMS
MOVING ALONG BOUNDARY THIS MORNING...BUT NOTHING PARTICULARLY
ORGANIZED YET. ORGANIZATION MAY IMPROVE DURING THE DAY AS LOW LEVEL
INSTABILITY INCREASES AND FEEDS INTO THE BOUNDARY...BUT STRONGEST
UPPER LEVEL WIND FIELDS DONT GENERATE UNTIL TONIGHT.

MARINE...SCEC WORKING OUT WELL SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY...BUT WINDS
MUCH LIGHTER OVER A GOOD PART OF THE NORTHERN LEG. WILL SEPARATE
ZONES ACCORDINGLY AT 1030 AM UPDATE.

&&

.TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 SCEC BONITA BCH TO SUWANNEE RVR INCLUDING TAMPA BAY.

ALSHEIMER

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 24, 11:00 AM EST, 2 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1100 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

.AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS MORNING
HAS PROVIDED A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WILL REACH SEVERE LIMITS
FROM LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON FOR POTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
FLORIDA.

FLZ039-055>057-060>062-065-242100-
CHARLOTTE-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-LEE-LEVY-MANATEE-SARASOTA-
1100 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM DURING THE AFTERNOON. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS ALONG WITH THE
POSSIBILITY OF SMALL HAIL. SOME OF THE HEAVIER STORMS MAY HAVE HEAVY
RAINFALL WITH MINOR FLOODING POSSIBLE.

@0006

FLZ042-043-048>052-242100-
CITRUS-HERNANDO-HILLSBOROUGH-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK-SUMTER-
1100 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PART OF WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM EST FOR THE COUNTIES
OF...CITRUS...HERNANDO...HILLSBOROUGH...PASCO...PINELLAS...POLK...
AND SUMTER.

DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL ARE THE MAIN THREATS UNTIL 400 PM.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR
POSSIBLE WATCHES OR WARNINGS.

SMALL TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE UNTIL 400 PM. TREES...POWER
LINES...AND POORLY CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS WILL BE MOST AT RISK. STAY
TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR POSSIBLE
WATCHES OR WARNINGS.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 9:50 AM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
950 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

FLZ048-241530-
HERNANDO-
950 AM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT HERNANDO COUNTY...
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH...WILL AFFECT WEEKI
WACHEE...BAYPORT AND BROOKSVILLE...UNTIL 1030 AM EST. GUSTY WINDS UP
TO 40 MPH WILL OCCUR. FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS
EXPECTED. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...CROUCH DOWN IN A LOW SPOT...AWAY FROM
TALL OBJECTS.

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 12:02 PM EST, 58 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1202 PM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

FLZ049-050-241745-
PASCO-PINELLAS-
1202 PM EST TUE FEB 24 2004

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT WEST PASCO AND NORTHWEST
PINELLAS COUNTIES...

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH...WILL MOVE ONSHORE AND
AFFECT AREAS NEAR HUDSON...PORT RICHEY...TARPON SPRINGS...NEW PORT
RICHEY AND JASMINE ESTATES...UNTIL 1 PM EST. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40
MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED. TORRENTIAL
RAINS WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS...AND MINOR FLOODING OF
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 39 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: February 24, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough County, 4 mi N of (Tpa)tampa Intl Arpt
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 28.033, -82.533

A thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 60 mph created 2.5 miles of damage near the Tampa International Airport according to a survey completed by Hillsborough County Emergency Management. Tree damage brought down power lines near the 5800 block of Benjamin Road. The damage extended southeast to the intersection of North Clark and Idlewild. A portion of a tar roof on home on West Hanna Avenue blew off and allowed heavy rains to cause significant water damage inside the home.

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

Every storm in Florida in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, February 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: 5382776.