High pressure south of the area kept west to southwest winds in place. Deep moisture also in place allowed for numerous afternoon and evening thunderstorms to move over the area from the Gulf of Mexico.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.
High pressure south of the area kept west to southwest winds in place. Deep moisture also in place allowed for numerous afternoon and evening thunderstorms to move over the area from the Gulf of Mexico.
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 15, 9:01 AM EST, 3 hours 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 1001 AM EDT TUE JUL 15 2008 .DISCUSSION...SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED/PUSHED ONSHORE ALONG THE COAST ALREADY THIS MORNING. SKIES ARE MOSTLY CLOUDY ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA WITH TEMPS GENERALLY AROUND 80 TO THE LOWER 80S. CURRENT FORECAST IS ON TRACK WITH HIGHS CLIMBING INTO THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S ACROSS THE AREA AND NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING TO PUSH INLAND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND DIMINISHING THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND MOVE INLAND THROUGH THE DAY CAUSING SOME MVFR/LOCAL IFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES. MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT OVER THE COASTAL WATERS MOVING ONSHORE...ESPECIALLY FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA SOUTH. OTHERWISE...OUTSIDE OF CONVECTION VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD PREVAIL. && .MARINE...BUOYS REPORTING GENERALLY WEST WINDS AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS ARE 2 TO 4 FEET WITH WINDS AND SEAS HIGHER NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. WILL INCREASE WINDS FOR UPDATE...BUT OTHERWISE CURRENT FORECAST IS ON TRACK. && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/MARINE...24 LONG TERM/AVIATION...69
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 426 AM EDT TUE JUL 15 2008 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-152030- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 426 AM EDT TUE JUL 15 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT...ANOTHER DAY OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH THE EARLY EVENINGHOURS. MAIN HAZARDS WILL AGAIN BE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN...DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH. ...FLOOD IMPACT...HEAVY RAIN WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGEST CELLS WHICH WILL BRING LOCALIZED FLOODING...ESPECIALLY OVER INTERSECTIONS AND LOW LYING AREAS WITH POOR DRAINAGE. WHEN DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN...NEVER ATTEMPT TO DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE OVER FLOODED ROADS. REMEMBER...TURN AROUND DONT DROWN. ...RIP CURRENT IMPACT...WITH WESTERLY AND SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW TODAY...THERE WILL BE A LOW TO MODERATE RISK FOR DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS. BEACHGOERS MUST EXERCISE CAUTION...ESPECIALLY AT KNOWN LOCATIONS FOR RIP CURRENT FORMATION...AND HEED ALL WARNINGS POSTED OR INDICATED BY LIFEGUARDS AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN AFFECT THE AREA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EARL EARLY EVENING WITH BEST CHANCES OF RAIN OVER THE INTERIOR COUNTIES. MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN...DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH. ...RIP CURRENT IMPACT...RISK FOR DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY. 22
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:50 UTC.
10 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the garage of a house on North Rehrer Road and started a fire that destroyed the entire house and two cars.
Two inches of rain fell in 30 minutes causing minor flooding on the property of a Citrus Park spotter.
The intersection of Dale Mabry Highway and Ehrlich Road in Tampa was flooded and a house was flooded along Ehrlich Road near Brookshire Court due to heavy rains.
A spotter located in Town 'N' Country measured 1.57 inches of rain in 30 minutes. This caused minor street flooding.
Law enforcement reported that Hill Street in Tampa was flooded and a car was stalled in the water.
A spotter living along the south bank of the Orange River in Buckingham reported the river was rising rapidly from the previous day's rains and a barn was flooded.
The public reported 7.31 inches of rain fell in 24 hours near Blue Lake south of Lake Wales.
Heavy rain caused localized street flooding with water up to the bottom of vehicles on 20th Street east of US Highway 301 and north of Chancey Road.
Law Enforcement reported minor flooding on Albee Road West near the bridge and the north jetty.
A television news helicopter reported the area around East Broadway Avenue and East Columbus Drive had flooding in parking lots, side streets and a few homes.
A television news helicopter reported that westbound State Road 60 near US Highway 41 was down to one lane due to street flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, July 2008
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: 127142, 127002, 127027, 127009, 127015, 127035, 127033, 127030, 127037, 127043, 127045.