Weak easterly winds and deep moisture allowed for sea breeze thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon. Some of these storms produced damaging lightning strikes and wind gusts.
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.
Weak easterly winds and deep moisture allowed for sea breeze thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon. Some of these storms produced damaging lightning strikes and wind gusts.
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 5, 2:17 PM EST, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 317 PM EDT THU SEP 5 2013 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING... .SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... DEEP EASTERLY FLOW REMAINS THE CONTROLLING FEATURE OF THE WEATHER OVER THE PENINSULA TODAY. SURFACE RIDGE OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE WILL KEEP WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN THIS PATTERN INTO THE WEEKEND. CURRENTLY...A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS HAVE BEGUN TO DEVELOP OVER THE INTERIOR PORTIONS OF THE STATE BUT SEEMS LIKELY THE STRONGER SHOWER AND TSTM DEVELOPMENT WILL OCCUR LATE INTO THIS AFTERNOON AND DURING THE EVENING HOURS...AS THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE INTERACTS WITH THE GULF COAST SEA BREEZE WHICH HAS REMAINED PINNED CLOSE TO THE COAST THIS AFTERNOON. OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL ALSO SERVE AS A CATALYST FROM TSTM FORMATION TODAY. BEST RAIN CHANCES APPEAR TO BE FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA SOUTH...BUT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS MUCH OF THE CWA...ESPECIALLY AREAS CLOSER TO THE GULF COAST. FRIDAY LOOKS LIKE NEARLY A MIRROR IMAGE OF TODAY WITH EASTERLY FLOW REMAINING IN CONTROL ACROSS THE STATE. POP FORECAST IS NEARLY IDENTICAL FOR THE LAST DAY OF THE WORK WEEK...THOUGH SUPPORT FROM AN AMPLIFYING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MAY AID CONVECTION OVER NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. ON SATURDAY...SOME DRIER AIR WILL TRY TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN ZONES DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH A SLIGHTLY STRONGER NORTHEASTERLY FLOW KEEPING THE SEA BREEZE CLOSER TO THE COAST. HOWEVER...STILL LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF MOISTURE FOR SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...BUT THE HIGHEST POPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE MAINLY SOUTH OF THE TAMPA BAY AREA ALONG THE INTERSTATE 75 CORRIDOR. .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY/... LONGWAVE MID/UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WILL BEGIN DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE UPCOMING WEEKEND WITH BROAD RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL CONUS FOLLOWED DOWNSTREAM BY TROUGHING BEGINNING TO EXIT THE EASTERN SEABOARD. MORE RELIABLE GLOBAL LONG RANGE GUIDANCE SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT THIS EVOLUTION WILL LEAD TO A LESS ACTIVE CONVECTIVE PATTERN BY THE EARLY PORTION OF NEXT WEEK. THE LOW LEVEL PATTERN WILL FEATURE EASTERLY FLOW ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE CAROLINAS...WHICH WOULD NORMALLY BE A FAVORABLE AND PREFERRED BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW FOR FOCUSING DIURNAL CONVECTION ALONG THE I-75 CORRIDOR. HOWEVER...OUR POSITION AHEAD OF THE BUILDING UPPER RIDGE AND JUST BEHIND THE DEPARTING TROUGH (WHICH A REMNANT OF GETS LEFT BEHIND) WOULD ALSO FAVOR AT LEAST SOME DEEP LAYER SUPPRESSION...AND ALSO THE ADVECTION SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF SOME VERY DRY MID/UPPER LEVEL AIR FORECAST TO RESIDE OVER THE FAR WESTERN ATLANTIC. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT ONE OF THE MOST UNRELIABLE AND LEAST ACCURATELY PREDICTED ASPECTS OF NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION ARE MOISTURE FIELDS...AND ESPECIALLY UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE FIELDS. FOR THIS FACT ALONE...WILL NOT DROP POPS ALL THAT MUCH BELOW CLIMO...ESPECIALLY WITH THE FAVORABLE 1000-700MB FLOW DIRECTION. EVEN STILL...THE REASONABLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ECMWF AND GFS IN A LESS THAN FAVORABLE DEEP LAYER COLUMN FOR DEEP CONVECTION SUGGESTS CERTAINLY NOT GOING ABOVE CLIMO (AS THE FLOW REGIME NORMALLY SUPPORT). ONE OTHER COMPLICATING FACTOR WILL BE THE EVOLUTION OF NEWLY FORMED TROPICAL STORM GABRIELLE. GABRIELLE IS CURRENTLY LOCATED SOUTH OF PUERTO RICO AND FORECAST TO MOVE SLOWLY NORTH INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. GABRIELLE DOES NOT LOOK TO BE A THREAT TO OUR REGION...HOWEVER IT EVOLUTION ACROSS THE WESTERN ATLANTIC MAY PLAY A ROLE / INFLUENCE THE SOURCE LOCATION OF OUR SUSPECTED MID/UPPER LEVEL AIRMASS EARLY NEXT WEEK. IT IS A "WAIT AND SEE" PATTERN FOR NOW...BUT CAN CERTAINLY SEE RAIN CHANCES NEEDING TO BE DECREASED FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK WITH FUTURE FORECAST PACKAGES. && .AVIATION... BRIEF MVFR/IFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES MAY IMPACT THE TERMINAL SITES BETWEEN 05/21Z AND 06/01Z AS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS DEVELOP OVER THE REGION AND HAVE INCLUDED BRIEF TEMPO GROUPS TO COVER THIS. VFR IS EXPECTED AT ALL TERMINALS AFTER 06/03Z. EAST WINDS 5 TO 7 KNOTS WILL BECOME WEST TO NORTHWEST 8 TO 10 KNOTS AFTER 20Z...WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 KNOTS POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF THUNDERSTORMS. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS WILL RETURN TO ALL SITES AFTER 06/03Z TONIGHT. && .MARINE... EASTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE DEVELOPING NEAR THE COAST EACH AFTERNOON. HIGHER WINDS AND WAVES ARE POSSIBLE WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL REMAIN LESS THAN 15 KNOTS AND LESS THAN 4 FEET THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH NO HEADLINES ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. EARLY NEXT WEEK WINDS COULD INCREASE INTO SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION RANGE EACH NIGHT DUE TO OVERNIGHT EASTERLY SURGES OF WIND. && .FIRE WEATHER... NO CONCERNS FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL REMAIN ABOVE CRITICAL LEVELS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 77 91 75 90 / 20 50 20 50 FMY 75 92 75 92 / 20 70 20 70 GIF 74 93 73 92 / 20 50 20 50 SRQ 75 91 75 91 / 20 50 20 50 BKV 71 90 71 92 / 20 60 20 60 SPG 79 90 78 89 / 20 40 20 40 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/FIRE WEATHER...11/MCKAUGHAN AND 02/GARCIA MARINE...02/GARCIA LONG TERM...14/MROCZKA AVIATION...57/MCMICHAEL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 259 AM EDT THU SEP 5 2013 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-GMZ830-850-853-856-870- 873-876-052200- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DESOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- TAMPA BAY WATERS-TARPON SPRINGS TO SUWANNEE RIVER OUT 20 NM- ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS OUT 20 NM- BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD OUT 20 NM- TARPON SPRINGS TO SUWANNEE RIVER OUT 20 TO 60 NM- ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS OUT 20 TO 60 NM- BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD OUT 20 TO 60 NM- 259 AM EDT THU SEP 5 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... A LIGHT FLOW NORTH AND WEAK EASTERLY FLOW SOUTH WILL KEEP THE SEA BREEZE FROM MOVING INLAND ALL THAT RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON. AMPLE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL COMBINE WITH DAYTIME HEATING...THE SEA BREEZES AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES TO CAUSE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN HAZARDS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. DUE TO SATURATED SOILS...ANY SLOW MOVING STORMS ARE LIKELY TO RESULT IN LOCALIZED STREET AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... A MORE DEFINED EASTERLY FLOW PATTERN WILL CONTINUE TO FAVOR SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. THE ISSUE OF SATURATED SOILS WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THESE SLOWER MOVING STORMS. INDICATIONS FOR THE EARLY PORTION OF NEXT WEEK SUGGEST A DECREASE IN THE DAILY COVERAGE OF STORMS...AND AT LEAST SOME OPPORTUNITY TO DRY OUT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. MROCZKA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
436 PM EDT THU SEP 5 2013
FLZ055-060-052115-
MANATEE-SARASOTA-
436 PM EDT THU SEP 5 2013
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT NORTHERN SARASOTA AND SOUTHERN
MANATEE COUNTIES...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A THUNDERSTORM
LOCATED NEAR HIDDEN RIVER...OR 12 MILES NORTH OF NORTH PORT...MOVING
WEST AT 15 MPH...WILL AFFECT MYAKKA RIVER STATE PARK...FRUITVILLE...
BEE RIDGE AND VAMO...UNTIL 515 PM EDT.
GUSTY WINDS 35 TO 45 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. THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE PEA
SIZE HAIL. TORRENTIAL RAINS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO NEAR ZERO AND
WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS.
&&
LAT...LON 2743 8211 2716 8212 2712 8248 2723 8253
2727 8258 2735 8259 2734 8256 2742 8259
TIME...MOT...LOC 2036Z 086DEG 14KT 2722 8225The Tampa radar (KTBW), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:47 UTC.
2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Florida State Watch Office relayed a report that an apartment building on Belcher Road in Clearwater was struck by lightning, causing a fire. Time was estimated from radar.
The Florida State Watch Office relayed a report of a house on Alcazar Way in South St. Petersburg that was struck by lightning, causing a fire. Broadcast media reported that the fire only damage one bedroom. Time was estimated from radar.
Broadcast media relayed a report of wind damage to homes and an apartment building around Bay Street SE and 20th Avenue in Indian Rocks Beach. A section of roof was blown off the apartment building on Bay Street SE and onto a road, and several trees and telephone poles were knocked down. Additionally, property damage reported on 20th Avenue included a porch, a lanai, a roof, and a stop sign. Time was estimated based off radar.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 2013
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: 475123, 475124, 475423.