Westerly flow caused morning showers and thunderstorms forming over the Gulf of Mexico and shifting onshore through the day. A lightning strike from one storm struck a septic tank, causing an explosion in the plumbing and damaging a toilet in the house.
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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.
Westerly flow caused morning showers and thunderstorms forming over the Gulf of Mexico and shifting onshore through the day. A lightning strike from one storm struck a septic tank, causing an explosion in the plumbing and damaging a toilet in the house.
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 Aug 4, 7:27 AM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL 827 AM EDT Sun Aug 4 2019 .UPDATE... Deep SW flow through 45k ft over the area as seen in 12Z sounding with moist and unstable environment. Radar showing SE Gulf convection moving ashore into SW and inland S FL zones this morning. Additional coastal development possible into the Tampa Bay area before noon, then all activity to transition inland this afternoon with clearing skies and warming temps. Will update grids and forecasts to reflect radar trends otherwise conditions on track. && .AVIATION... Scattered TSRA/SHRA continue across SW FL terminals this morning and expected to dev into the Tampa Bay area through about 16Z-17Z with brief and localized MVFR conditions possible in and around storms. VRF conditions outside of convection and then most asreas this afternoon. && .Prev Discussion... /issued 246 AM EDT Sun Aug 4 2019/ DISCUSSION... Low-level southwest flow regime continues today and will remain in place for much of the upcoming week. We're already seeing showers develop across portions of SW Florida this morning, much like yesterday. These showers and the occasional thunderstorm will continue through the morning hours before shifting inland and towards the east coast of the peninsula by later in the day. Some locally heavy rainfall will certainly be possible in spots and some localized flooding could occur in areas that have seen higher rain totals in recent days. No major changes to the weather pattern throughout the week, as upper trough will remain over the eastern U.S. into the Gulf through late week. Subtle changes in atmospheric moisture each day will allow for slightly varying PoPs daily but either way, diurnal heating and seabreezes will keep typical summertime PoPs over the area with normal to slightly above average temps each day. Highs will run within a few degrees of 90 each day with lows in the mid to upper 70s. MARINE... High pressure across the Florida Straits will maintain southwest to west winds around 10 knots or less along with seas of 2 feet or less across the Gulf waters Sunday with an enhanced onshore sea breeze component developing along the coast Sunday afternoon. Wind and seas will be higher near any late night and early morning thunderstorms, otherwise no headlines are expected. FIRE WEATHER... Sufficient low level moisture will keep relative humidity values above critical levels through the week with no Red Flag conditions expected. No significant fog is expected through the period. && .Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs... TPA 90 76 88 76 / 20 40 30 30 FMY 88 76 88 75 / 60 40 50 30 GIF 92 75 90 74 / 40 30 40 20 SRQ 89 76 89 76 / 40 50 40 40 BKV 91 74 90 73 / 20 30 30 30 SPG 89 76 88 76 / 20 40 30 40 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. Gulf waters...None. && UPDATE/AVIATION...Davis
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:57 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a septic tank, igniting gas in the plumbing, which caused a toilet in the house to explode. No one was injured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 2019
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: 833927.