Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2006
F0 tornado, Lakeland, Florida, June 24, 2006
This F0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Polk County on June 24, 2006, touching down at 3:13 PM EDT and reaching 40 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- F0
- Date
- June 24, 2006
- Touchdown
- 3:13 PM EDT (19:13 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.3 miles (0.5 km)
- Path width
- 40 yards (37 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Polk County
- Touchdown point
- 27.980, -82.000
- Lift-off point
- 27.980, -82.020
- Record number
- 695
What the Weather Service recorded
An emergency management official reported a tornado touchdown in a large wooded area near the Polk County Parkway and US Highway 98.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
3 minutes of warning. NWS TBW issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:10 UTC, 3 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:30 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:10 UTC | 19:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | TBW |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:42 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Jun 24, 1:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 24, 1:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 125 PM EDT SAT JUN 24 2006 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT-MON)...SIGNIF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GFS AND NAM WITH HANDLING THE LOW PRES SYSTEM TO OUR EAST. NAM WANTS TO DEEPEN THE LOW...IN MORE OF A TROPICAL FASHION...TONIGHT AND TAKE IT INTO NE FL SUN AFTERNOON. THIS LOOKS OVERDONE...ESP SINCE THE MODEL INITIALIZED WITH A WELL DEFINED CLOSE SFC LOW...WHEREAS CURRENT SAT PIX AND MARINE OBS CANT PARTICULARLY VERIFY THAT...AND THERES A LOT OF SHEAR WITH WESTERLY WINDS ALOFT. THE GFS ON THE OTHER HAND...SEEMS MORE REASONABLE WITH REGARD TO GRADUALLY DRIFTING THE UPR LOW WEST OVER THE PENINSULA ON SUNDAY...INCLUDING A BROAD AREA OF SFC LOW PRES...THEN MERGING THIS WHOLE SYSTEM WITH AN APPROACHING LONG WAVE TROF OVER THE SE U.S. DESPITE THE MODEL DIFFS...THE MOST LIKELY WX SCENARIO IS A CONTINUATION OF MOISTURE ADVECTION FROM THE EAST AS THE LOW DRIFTS WESTWARD...AND THIS WILL INCREASE OUR RAIN CHANCES AS EVIDENT BY SPOTTY SHOWERS ALREADY REACHING OUR INTERIOR ZONES. A BAND OF HEAVIER DOWNPOURS MAY DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS THESE MOISTURE RICH SHOWERS FROM THE EAST INTERSECT THE WC SEA BREEZE. THEN...MORE WIDESPREAD DEEPER MOISTURE AND ASSOC SHOWER AND TSTM ACTIVITY SHOULD EVOLVE LATER TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...BUT EXACT PLACEMENT OF HEAVIER ACTIVITY ON SUNDAY TOUGH TO PIN DOWN ATTM BASED ON SATELLITE AND MODEL INDICATIONS OF DRY AIR WRAPPING INTO THE SYSTEM. FOR NOW WILL SIMPLY CONTINUE LIKELY POPS FOR SUNDAY FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. A FEW DEGREES COOLER ON SUNDAY WITH CLOUD COVER AND SHOWERS...BUT STILL EXPECTING HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S. ON MONDAY...THE UPR LOW WILL BEGIN TO MERGE WITH THE APPROACHING LONG WAVE TROF. WITH AMPLE TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE AREA... NUMEROUS SFC MESO BOUNDARIES...AND SYNOPTIC UPR LEVEL SUPPORT... SHOWERS/TSTMS LOOK LIKELY AGAIN OVER MUCH OF THE CWA. && .LONG TERM (MON NGT - SAT)...LOW-LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THIS RESULTS IN A WEST TO SOUTHWESTERLY WIND REGIME...TYPICALLY FAVORING LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING SHOWERS AND STORMS NEAR THE COAST AND LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS INLAND. I MADE SOME TWEAKS TO THE GRIDS TO REFLECT THIS SCENARIO...BUT OVERALL NO MAJOR CHANGES WERE MADE. THE GFS IS FORECASTING THE LOW-LEVEL RIDGE TO LIFT NORTHWARD ON THURSDAY AND MEANDER OVER THE STATE THROUGH SATURDAY. WITH A VERY LOOSE PRESSURE GRADIENT IN PLACE...CONVECTION WILL BE DIURNALLY DRIVEN AS SEA BREEZE CIRCULATIONS MOVE INLAND FROM BOTH COASTS. MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE LACKING...BUT EXPECT AT LEAST LOW-END SCATTERED COVERAGE WHICH IS IN THE ONGOING FORECAST ALREADY. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF CLIMATOLOGY. && .MARINE...UNLESS PRESSURES FALL RAPIDLY AND SOON...LOOKS LIKE PRES GRAD WILL REMAIN WEAK ENOUGH FOR WINDS TO REMAIN AOB 15 KTS THIS WEEKEND AS THE BROAD LOW MOVES OVER THE PENINSULA. NAM DOES SHOW SOME STRONGER SW WINDS ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW...BUT FOR NOW WERE DISREGARDING THE NAMS DEVELOPMENT OF THIS LOW. FOR NOW WILL CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE WINDS AOB 15KT THRU THE FORECAST PERIOD...BUT MARINERS SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO UPDATES THIS WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE INTERIOR AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE. THESE WILL MOVE WESTWARD AND RUN UP AGAINST THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE THIS AFTERNOON. SINCE COVERAGE IS HIGHER THAN EARLIER ANTICIPATED...WILL ADD TEMPO MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AT ALL TERMINALS. && .FIRE WEATHER...RHS VALUES WILL STAY ABOVE CRITICAL VALUES THRU THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 75 87 76 85 / 20 60 40 60 FMY 75 88 76 87 / 20 60 40 60 GIF 75 89 74 86 / 20 60 40 60 SRQ 75 86 75 85 / 20 60 40 60 BKV 72 88 72 85 / 20 60 40 60 SPG 80 86 78 86 / 20 60 40 60 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/MARINE...NP LONG TERM/AVIATION...EJ
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 24, 4:51 AM EDT, 10 hours 22 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 451 AM EDT SAT JUN 24 2006 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-241400- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 451 AM EDT SAT JUN 24 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT: AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN BAHAMAS EARLY THIS MORNING WILL MOVE WEST TOWARD THE FLORIDA EAST COAST TONIGHT THEN MOVE INTO WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA ON SUNDAY. DEEP LAYERED MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW WILL SPREAD OVER THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. THIS MOISTURE COMBINED WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EAST AND WEST COAST SEA BREEZE BOUNDARIES WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INITIALLY DEVELOP OVER INTERIOR LOCATIONS BY LATER THIS MORNING...WITH THESE STORMS SPREADING WEST WITH ADDITIONAL STORMS FIRING OFF ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP TODAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL. WHEN SKIES DARKEN...MOVE INDOORS. IF THERE IS TIME...UNPLUG APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY DEEP LAYERED MOISTURE AND ADEQUATE INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE PENINSULA WILL SUPPORT ADDITIONAL SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL AGAIN BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL. SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL LEAD TO ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY MAINLY ALONG THE EAST AND WEST COAST SEA BREEZE BOUNDARIES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. JCM
The air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 12:00Z
7.2 hours before the tornado, 49 km from the path. June 24, 2006.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 628 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -23 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 838 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 751 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.0 K/km
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 00:00Z
4.8 hours after it, 49 km from the path. June 25, 2006.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1721 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3756 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 849 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 41 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 40 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.0 K/km
The surface observations
Lakeland Regional (LAL), 1 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:47 UTC | 87.8 | 68 | 4 kt | 1013.5 | ||
| 18:50 UTC | 82.4 | 73.4 | 360° 8 kt | 1012.9 | VCSH | |
| 19:50 UTC | 78.8 | 71.6 | 4 kt | 1012.9 | ||
| 20:47 UTC | 73.4 | 68 | 50° 13 kt | 1012.9 | TSRA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:10 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:13 UTC | TORNADO | Lakeland Highlands | Polk, FL | EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL REPORTED A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN A LARGE WOODED AREA NEAR POLK COUNTY PARKWAY AND US HIGHWAY 98. |
| 19:54 UTC | MARINE TSTM WIND 49 | 7 Ssw Tampa | Hillsborough, FL | 43 KNOT GUST MEASURED AT THE OLD PORT TAMPA PORTS STATION. |
| 19:55 UTC | MARINE TSTM WIND 40 | Macdill Air Force Base | Hillsborough, FL | 35 KNOT GUST MEASURED AT THE MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE ASOS. |
| 20:15 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | Ona | Hardee, FL | 65 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED AT THE ONA FAWN STATION. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 24, 2006
6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.