An area of low pressure developed over the northern Gulf of Mexico and moved east-northeast across the northern Florida peninsula through the day. Strong upper energy ahead of the system enhanced thunderstorm activity and produced strong and damaging winds and large hail.
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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.
An area of low pressure developed over the northern Gulf of Mexico and moved east-northeast across the northern Florida peninsula through the day. Strong upper energy ahead of the system enhanced thunderstorm activity and produced strong and damaging winds and large 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 Jan 17, 9:05 AM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 905 AM EST MON JAN 17 2011 .UPDATE...CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR AREA OF CONVECTION OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS THIS MORNING. SO FAR...STRONGEST STORMS PRODUCING WIND GUSTS 25-30 MPH...RAINFALL RATES ABOUT AN INCH AN HOUR AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. UPPER TROUGH AND DYNAMICS SWINGING THROUGH THE REGION TO PUSH GULF LOW PRESSURE STORM SYSTEM OVER THE AREA TODAY WITH SEVERAL SURFACE BOUNDARIES ACTING AS CONVECTION INITIATORS. ONE OVER THE FL PENINSULA INTO E GULF FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA ALONG THE I-4 CORRIDOR TO NEAR DAYTONA AND THE ANOTHER FROM THE LOW CENTER SOUTH-SOUTHWESTWARD INTO THE SOUTHERN GULF. SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS CONTINUE MAINLY ALONG AND NEAR THESE BOUNDARIES THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. && .AVIATION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE IN THE VICINITY OF SRQ NORTHWARD. WHILE RA WILL PREVAIL...A FEW EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AND WILL UPDATE WITH TEMPO TSRA AS NEEDED. AS THE SURFACE LOW APPROACHES THE REGION LATER THIS AFTERNOON...EXPECT A BETTER SHOT OF RA AND POSSIBLY TSRA FOR FMY AND RSW BUT UNTIL THEN WILL MAINTAIN VCTS. && .MARINE...LOW PRESSURE AREA TO MOVE THROUGH THE E GULF WATERS TODAY WITH MODERATE GRADIENT FOR WINDS 15+ KNOTS AND SEAS 2-4 FT THIS MORNING. WINDS AND SEAS COULD BRIEFLY BECOME GUSTY WITH BUILDING SEAS IN AND AROUND WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHILE VISIBILITIES DROP BELOW 1 NM THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. MARINERS MAY WANT TO POSTPONE TRIPS UNTIL CONDITIONS IMPROVE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 70 58 70 58 / 90 20 10 10 FMY 75 60 75 59 / 90 30 10 10 GIF 72 56 73 56 / 90 20 10 10 SRQ 70 58 71 58 / 90 20 10 10 BKV 70 53 71 53 / 90 20 10 10 SPG 69 60 70 60 / 90 20 10 10 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/MARINE/FIRE WEATHER...25/DAVIS LONG TERM/AVIATION...20/BARRON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 515 AM EST MON JAN 17 2011 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-172200- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 515 AM EST MON JAN 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY AND A FEW OF THESE COULD BECOME STRONG AND CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS... OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THERE IS ALSO A SMALL CHANCE THAT A COUPLE OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED TORNADO. THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL GENERALLY BE FROM AROUND THE INTERSTATE 4 CORRIDOR SOUTHWARD DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. ...DENSE FOG IMPACT... TONIGHT INTO EARLY TUESDAY THE COMBINATION OF LIGHT WINDS WITH THE WET GROUND AFTER TODAYS RAIN WILL LEAD TO LOW CLOUDS AND FOG. SOME OF THE FOG COULD BECOME LOCALLY DENSE AND REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE HALF OF A MILE. THOSE TRAVELING TONIGHT INTO EARLY TUESDAY SHOULD DRIVE WITH CAUTION. USE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS... REDUCE YOUR SPEED...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND OTHER VEHICLES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. ...DENSE FOG IMPACT... AREAS OF FOG ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ONCE AGAIN TUESDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY AND SOME OF THE FOG COULD BECOME LOCALLY DENSE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. PRC
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:21 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported cars being blown off the road along the Palma Sola Causeway/Manatee Avenue West.
Lightning struck a car on the Manatee Avenue Bridge. Injuries are unknown.
A large tree branch was downed in a shopping plaza near the intersection of Manatee Avenue West and 75th Street West. Pea sized hail was also reported.
Quarter sized hail was reported near Parrish.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, January 2011
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: 268226, 268227, 268228, 268230.