A surface trough was in place across central Florida with an upper trough over the region moving upper disturbances over the area allowing for numerous showers and thunderstorms. A widespread 4 to 8 inches of rain fell across the Tampa Bay area resulting in some flooding.
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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 surface trough was in place across central Florida with an upper trough over the region moving upper disturbances over the area allowing for numerous showers and thunderstorms. A widespread 4 to 8 inches of rain fell across the Tampa Bay area resulting in some flooding.
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 Sep 11, 2:29 AM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 329 AM EDT FRI SEP 11 2009 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY)... SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDING DOWN FROM LOW OFF THE MID ATLANTIC HAS BEGUN TO SHIFT NORTHWARD...AND IS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS MORNING. THIS BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH TODAY...MAKING ITS WAY UP INTO THE TAMPA BAY AREA BY THIS EVENING. AS IT DOES...WE WILL FINALLY SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MOISTURE UP INTO THE AREA. PWS LOOK TO INCREASE TO AROUND OR JUST ABOVE 2 INCHES OVER ALL BUT OUR EXTREME NORTHERN COUNTIES. HIGHEST INSTABILITY/MOISTURE WILL MOST LIKELY BY OVER OUR SE COUNTIES...AND HAVE CONTINUED NUMEROUS WORDING (70% POPS) FOR THIS AREA...WITH 60% COVERAGE OVER REST OF INLAND LOCATIONS. TEMPS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE ALREADY STARTING THE DAY WITH DECENT CLOUD COVER. THIS EARLY CLOUD COVER MAY HELP TO DELAY THE DEVELOPMENT OF STORMS AS WELL...BUT WITH SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY SHOULDNT HAVE AN IMPACT ON OVERALL COVERAGE. SCATTERED STORMS SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...THEN START TO DIMINISH OVER LAND. MODELS ALL IN PRETTY DECENT AGREEMENT WITH KEEPING SCATTERED ACTIVITY OFFSHORE HOWEVER THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS A WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVES INTO THE EXTREME NORTHEASTERN GULF. AN UPPER LOW CURRENTLY TAKING SHAPE OVER CENTRAL TX WILL HOVER OVER THE ARKLATEX REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND...AND EJECT SEVERAL SHORTWAVES OVER THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. THIS WILL HELP TO BOOST OUR RAIN CHANCES ON SATURDAY ESPECIALLY AS THE SURFACE TROUGH HANGS OUT OVER NORTHERN FLORIDA. POPS REFLECT THIS THINKING...WITH HIGHEST CHANCES (70%) UP OVER OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES TO 40% IN THE SOUTHWEST. HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE AREA LATE SATURDAY/EARLY SUNDAY. SOME UNCERTAINTY CREEPS INTO THE FORECAST STARTING ON SUNDAY AS MODELS DIVERGE ON LOCATION/TIMING OF SURFACE LOWS FORMING BOTH IN THE GULF AND OFF THE NE FL COAST. WHERE ANY OF THESE LOWS FORM PLAY A BIG ROLE IN OUR FORECAST...WHERE DRIER AIR WILL END UP...ETC. FOR NOW...HAVE CONTINUED 50% POPS INLAND ON SUNDAY AS THERE SHOULD BE PLENTY OF MOISTURE FOR AT LEAST SEA-BREEZES TO WORK WITH. WILL KEEP TEMPS NEAR NORMAL FOR NOW AS WELL. .LONG TERM (SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)... LONG TERM PERIOD BEGINS WITH GFS AND ECMWF DEPICTING A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING OFF THE NE FL COAST WITH WITH WEAK SFC RIDGE AXIS ACROSS THE FL STRAITS. FURTHER WEST NEAR THE TX/LA BORDER...A DEVELOPING SFC TROUGH WILL GAIN STRENGTH AND DRIFT NE. IN THE MID/UPPER LEVELS...WEAK RIDGING OVER THE STATE WILL GRADUALLY ERODE THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A TROUGH DIGS SOUTH TOWARDS THE NORTHERN GULF. WITH A WESTERLY WIND COMPONENT TO THE FLOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY...DECIDED TO KEEP SCT THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS IN THE GULF WATERS AND COASTAL LOCATIONS NORTH OF SRQ. BY THURSDAY M/L RIDGE ATTEMPTS TO UNDERCUT THE TROUGH WHILE THE SFC RIDGE AXIS TRIES TO SETUP ACROSS THE STATE. WINDS WILL REGAIN THEIR EASTERLY COMPONENT WITH AFTERNOON SCT CONVECTION PUSHING WESTWARD ACROSS THE REGION. WEST COAST SEA BREEZE CONVECTION WILL BE LIMITED TO COASTAL AREAS. TEMPS WILL REMAIN NEAR CLIMO FOR THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THROUGH THIS MORNING BEFORE VCTS BEGIN TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION LATER THIS AFTERNOON. CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NEAR THE SOUTHERN MOST TERMINALS AND SPREAD NORTH. WITH AN EASTERLY COMPONENT TO THE WIND...CONVECTION ALONG THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE IS NOT EXPECTED TO DRIFT FAR INLAND. && .MARINE... AS SURFACE TROUGH MOVES NORTH THROUGH THE AREA TODAY...WINDS REMAIN IN THE 10-15KT RANGE THIS MORNING WITH SEAS AROUND 2-3FT. DIRECTIONS BECOME SOUTHERLY AS THE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH (EARLY IN THE DAY SOUTH OF TAMPA BAY AND CLOSER TO SATURDAY MORNING TAMPA BAY NORTHWARD). TROUGH MOVES UP INTO NORTHERN FLORIDA ON SUNDAY AND HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE PENINSULA FROM THE SOUTHEAST...SO WINDS BECOME WESTERLY SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .FIRE WEATHER... INCREASING MOISTURE EXPECTED TODAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THEREFORE NO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 88 75 87 75 / 60 50 60 30 FMY 88 75 88 76 / 70 50 50 30 GIF 88 73 89 73 / 60 50 60 30 SRQ 88 74 87 75 / 70 50 50 30 BKV 88 70 88 72 / 60 50 60 30 SPG 88 78 87 79 / 60 50 60 30 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/MARINE/FIRE WEATHER...23/MCNATT LONG TERM/AVIATION...20/BARRON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 520 AM EDT FRI SEP 11 2009 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-112130- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 520 AM EDT FRI SEP 11 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... A SURFACE TROUGH MOVING NORTH THROUGH THE REGION...COMBINED WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MOISTURE...WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE MINOR FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS...GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES INTO NORTHERN FLORIDA...MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE AREA...AND SEA-BREEZE HELP TO SPARK AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACTIVITY. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE MINOR FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS...GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY. MCNATT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
There was 4.45 inches of rain measured over the past 24 hours east of Ellenton.
Heavy rains caused street flooding in Tampa south of the intersection of Henderson Boulevard and Kennedy Boulevard. The heavy rains caused a shallow-rooted tree to uproot and fall onto a house causing roof damage.
The rain gauge at Willis Elementary School measured 6.20 inches of rain over six hours.
An NWS Employee measured 5.0 inches of rain over eight hours.
An NWS Employee measured 6.81 inches of rain over the past eight hours.
Widespread rains totalling 4 to 8 inches across the county resulted in some road closures on State Roads 70, 62, 39 and County Road 675. The Manatee Dam was forced to release approximately 11,000cfs from the pool to slow the rise in the elevation at the dam and this caused the third highest crest in history at the Manatee River at Rye Bridge, peaking at 17.85 feet at 1815EST. At this height, water reaches the foundations of elevated homes and the Christian Retreat Center. There was widespread flooding in the Samoset neighborhood that resulted in several homes receiving water damage to flooring and furniture.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 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: 192692, 192685, 192690, 192691, 192695, 192696.