A low pressure system remained over the northern Gulf keeping the area in deep moist southerly flow. Numerous thunderstorms moved over the area as a result and spawned a tornado and some hail.
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.
A low pressure system remained over the northern Gulf keeping the area in deep moist southerly flow. Numerous thunderstorms moved over the area as a result and spawned a tornado and some hail.
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 May 22, 8:31 AM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
931 AM EDT FRI MAY 22 2009
.DISCUSSION...SURFACE LOW OVER THE GULF...WELL WEST OF CHARLOTTE
HARBOR...WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT WESTWARD TODAY WITH A EAST TO SE
FLOW SPREADING RAIN BANDS ALONG WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE
AREA. CURRENT GRIDS AND FORECAST ON TRACK AND WILL NOT UPDATE.
&&
.AVIATION...RAIN AND A FEW EMBEDDED SHOWERS WILL AFFECT AREA
TERMINALS THIS MORNING WITH MVFR CONDITIONS. SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AGAIN IN THE AFTERNOON BRINGING MVFR TO
LOCALLY IFR CONDITIONS.
&&
.MARINE...EAST OR SE WINDS IN THE 10-20KT RANGE...WITH A CAUTION
HEADLINE FOR SOME OF THE OUTER WATERS...TO PERSIST TODAY. NEXT
ISSUANCE OUT AROUND 10 AM WITH LITTLE CHANGE.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...NO LOW RH CONCERNS DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
&&
.TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
GULF WATERS...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION ENGLEWOOD TO SUWANNEE
RIVER OUT 20 TO 60 NM THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.
&&
SHORT TERM/MARINE/FIRE WEATHER...09/RUDE
LONG TERM/AVIATION...63/JILLSONHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 530 AM EDT FRI MAY 22 2009 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-221600- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 530 AM EDT FRI MAY 22 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AGAIN TODAY. A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG AND CONTAIN SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. IN ADDITION... BRIEF WATERSPOUTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH STORMS NEAR THE COAST. ...WIND AND SEA IMPACT... EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL CONTINUE IN THE 15 TO 20 KNOT RANGE OVER THE OFFSHORE COASTAL WATERS TODAY AND TONIGHT AND SMALL CRAFT SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXERCISE CAUTION. CLOSER TO THE COAST WINDS WILL BE AROUND 15 KNOTS THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. MARINERS MAY WANT TO POSTPONE BOATING PLANS DURING THESE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EACH DAY THROUGH THE PERIOD. THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. PRC
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 1243 PM EDT FRI MAY 22 2009 FLZ052-221745- POLK- 1243 PM EDT FRI MAY 22 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT SOUTHEASTERN POLK COUNTY... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THUNDERSTORMS... MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH...WILL AFFECT LAKE WALES...UNTIL 145 PM EDT. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH WILL OCCUR. FREQUENT LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED. TO BE SAFE GO INDOORS IMMEDIATELY IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND A LOW SPOT...AND STAY AWAY FROM TALL OBJECTS. HAIL UP TO DIME SIZE IS EXPECTED. WHEN DRIVING THROUGH HEAVY RAIN...SLOW DOWN. ALWAYS LEAVE A SAFE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND OTHER VEHICLES. LAT...LON 2772 8120 2766 8169 2803 8185 2812 8151 TIME...MOT...LOC 1643Z 137DEG 13KT 2778 8129
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:42 UTC.
1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The public had photographic evidence of a tornado in west Clearwater that dissipated just before moving offshore. No damage was reported along the path.
A skylight was ripped off of a roof and a fence was blown over along Manor Loop. A shed was also destroyed and a carport and a sun roof were ripped off of mobile homes along Indian Ridge Trail.
Nickel size hail was reported near Rockridge Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2009Warnings in Florida, May 2009
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: 171389, 173974, 171395.