Deep low level moisture allowed for scattered afternoon thunderstorms across the Florida Peninsula. One of these storms produced penny sized hail, and another caused damaging 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.
Deep low level moisture allowed for scattered afternoon thunderstorms across the Florida Peninsula. One of these storms produced penny sized hail, and another caused damaging 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 Jul 20, 2:09 PM EST, 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 309 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2014 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT - A RIDGE CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES/HIGH PLAINS SPRAWLED EASTWARD ACROSS THE GULF TOWARD FL WHILE A BROAD AND WEAK TROUGH EXTENDED FROM SOUTHWEST QUEBEC TO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. A COMPACT LOW WAS OVER THE OLD BAHAMA CHANNEL...BETWEEN CUBA AND THE BAHAMAS. SURFACE - A LOW IN NORTHERN MANITOBA TRAILED A FRONT TO THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS...HIGH PRESSURE REACHED FROM NEW ENGLAND TO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY..AND A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WAS DRAPED ACROSS THE GULF COAST UP TO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THROUGH THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES THEN ALONG ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS TO OFFSHORE NEW ENGLAND. HIGH PRESSURE IN THE OPEN ATLANTIC RIDGED WESTWARD THROUGH FL INTO THE WESTERN GULF. && .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND MONDAY)... THE UPPER TROUGH SLIDES EAST AS IT SAGS SOUTH SOME THEN DEEPENS INTO A WEAK CUT-OFF LOW OVER THE EASTERN GULF COASTAL STATES BY MON AFTERNOON...WITH THE GULF RIDGE SHUNTED SOUTH. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ALONG THE GULF MEANDERS INTO THE SE U.S. THEN DISSIPATES INTO A TROUGH. THE ATLANTIC SURFACE HIGH CONTINUES TO RIDGE INTO THE GULF WITH AN AXIS GENERALLY ACROSS CENTRAL FL. FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON...ISOLATED SHOWERS AND A FEW STORMS ARE FIRING ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA AND WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND MOVE INLAND ON THE AFTERNOON SEAS BREEZE. GREATEST COVERAGE WILL BE INLAND IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. CONVECTION BEGINS WIND DOWN IN PLACE AFTER SUNSET AND GENERALLY ENDS ON LAND SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. TONIGHT-MON...DEEP MOISTURE THAT HAS BEEN POOLING ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL MOVE INTO THE EASTERN GULF OVERNIGHT AND ACROSS FL MON AS THE UPPER TROUGH/LOW APPROACHES. PWAT VALUES IN THE 1.7 TO 2 INCH RANGE ACROSS THE STATE TODAY WILL INCREASE TO THE 2 TO 2.3 INCH RANGE MON...WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS IN THE NORTH. THIS INCREASING MOISTURE ALONG WITH POSSIBLE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM CONVECTION CURRENTLY ALONG THE CENTRAL GULF COAST WILL RESULT IN ISOLATED TO OCCASIONALLY SCATTERED STORMS REACHING THE EAST GULF WATERS LATER NIGHT AND ONSHORE THE NATURE COAST AROUND DAYBREAK, THESE SPREAD INLAND ACROSS MOST COASTAL LOCATIONS IN THE MORNING AND ACROSS THE INTERIOR BY EARLY THE AFTERNOON...WITH COVERAGE FROM SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS IN THE NORTH. TEMPERATURES WILL RUN NEAR TO JUST BELOW NORMAL. .MID TERM (MONDAY NIGHT-TUESDAY NIGHT)... A 500 MB TROUGH CONTINUES ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH WITH GENERALLY HIGH RAIN CHANCES AND AMOUNTS OF CLOUD COVER FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. BEST RAIN CHANCES DUE TO THE MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BE ACROSS THE NATURE COAST AND OVER THE GULF WATERS...WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE PENINSULA. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WILL BE A TAD CHALLENGING DUE TO UNCERTAINTY ABOUT CLOUD COVER AND RAIN TIMING. EXPECT THE MOIST AIRMASS WILL AID IN KEEPING HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S. .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY-NEXT SUNDAY)... THE UNSETTLED PATTERN OVER THE SOUTHEAST CONTINUES AS ANOTHER 500 MB TROUGH AMPLIFIES OVER THE REGION MID TO LATE WEEK. AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...BUT AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND THE WARM GULF WATERS COULD PROMOTE OVERNIGHT SHOWERS. THE TROUGH DIGS THROUGH THE EASTERN UNITED STATES TO END THE WEEK...REACHING FLORIDA DURING THE WEEKEND. THE LATEST GLOBAL MODEL GUIDANCE IS PROMOTING SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR MOVING INTO FLORIDA AS THE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS...LESSENING OVERNIGHT AND MORNING RAIN CHANCES FOR THE WEEKEND COMPARED TO PREVIOUS RUNS...BUT PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALLOW AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. FORECAST CONFIDENCE IN THE EXTENDED IS MARGINAL DUE TO UNCERTAINTY WITH THE TIMING OF THE TROUGHS AND THE EXTENT OF THE DRIER AIR CURRENTLY TRENDING IN THE GUIDANCE. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE AROUND CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...WITH RAIN CHANCES EXPECTED TO REMAIN HEALTHY THROUGH MUCH OF THE LONG TERM FORECAST PERIOD. && .AVIATION... TIL 21/18Z...PREVAILING VFR WITH BRIEF VCTS AT MOST TERMINALS THIS AFTERNOON...BUT WITH WESTERLY OR SOON TO BE WESTERLY WINDS THE BEST ODDS OF TSRA WILL BE INLAND. VFR CONTINUES OVER NIGHT AS MAINLY HIGH CLOUDS INCREASE AND WINDS BECOME LIGHT AND MOSTLY VARIABLE. LATE NIGHT SHRA ON THE GULF MAY REACH TPA/PIE BY SUNRISE...WITH VCNTY TSRA FOR ALL TERMINALS AFT 21/15Z. && .MARINE... A WEAK AND BROAD HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE FROM THE ATLANTIC WILL MEANDER ACROSS CENTRAL FL AND INTO THE GULF THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH LIGHT WINDS AND LOW SEAS THROUGH THE PERIOD...ALTHOUGH HIGHER IN AND AND NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. && .FIRE WEATHER... RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES REMAIN ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLDS THROUGH THE PERIOD. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED BUT OCCASIONALLY NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL PROVIDE LIGHTNING AND SOME LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 78 88 77 91 / 10 40 40 60 FMY 76 90 76 92 / 30 40 30 60 GIF 76 89 76 93 / 30 60 30 60 SRQ 77 88 76 91 / 10 40 40 50 BKV 73 89 72 92 / 10 50 40 60 SPG 80 87 79 91 / 10 40 40 50 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SYNOPSIS/SHORT TERM/AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER...09/RUDE MID TERM...02/GARCIA AND 09/RUDE LONG TERM...02/GARCIA MARINE...13/OGLESBY DECISION SUPPORT...69/CLOSE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 447 AM EDT SUN JUL 20 2014 FLZ043-050-052-056-057-061-139-142-148-149-151-155-160-162-165- 239-242-248-249-251-255-260-262-265-GMZ830-836-850-853-856-870- 873-876-210900- SUMTER-PINELLAS-POLK-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-DESOTO-COASTAL LEVY- COASTAL CITRUS-COASTAL HERNANDO-COASTAL PASCO- COASTAL HILLSBOROUGH-COASTAL MANATEE-COASTAL SARASOTA- COASTAL CHARLOTTE-COASTAL LEE-INLAND LEVY-INLAND CITRUS- INLAND HERNANDO-INLAND PASCO-INLAND HILLSBOROUGH-INLAND MANATEE- INLAND SARASOTA-INLAND CHARLOTTE-INLAND LEE-TAMPA BAY WATERS- CHARLOTTE HARBOR AND PINE ISLAND SOUND- 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- 447 AM EDT SUN JUL 20 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED...MAINLY INLAND DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...AND FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING STRIKES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. ...THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEK. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS... AND FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING STRIKES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. GARCIA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 315 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2014 FLZ052-249-251-202000- POLK-INLAND HILLSBOROUGH-INLAND PASCO- 315 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2014 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT NORTHEASTERN HILLSBOROUGH... NORTHWESTERN POLK AND SOUTHEASTERN PASCO COUNTIES... AT 315 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A THUNDERSTORM LOCATED NEAR HILLSBOROUGH RIVER STATE PARK...OR 6 MILES SOUTH OF ZEPHYRHILLS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH...WILL AFFECT HILLSBOROUGH RIVER STATE PARK...CRYSTAL SPRINGS...ZEPHYRHILLS AND ZEPHYRHILLS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT...UNTIL 400 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. TORRENTIAL RAINS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO NEAR ZERO AND WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS. && LAT...LON 2840 8215 2817 8193 2806 8223 2816 8233 TIME...MOT...LOC 1915Z 232DEG 7KT 2816 8220
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:27 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Pictures and damage descriptions appeared on the social media pages of local broadcast media outlets of wind damage around Tropical Acre Estates in Zephyrhills. Damage included small trees down, carports damaged, and a section of a fence blown out.
A social media user reported penny sized hail falling from 4:04 to 4:10PM south of Lakeland.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, July 2014
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: 521254, 521255.