Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Cleveland, OH

May 9, 1988Cuyahoga County, Ohio

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1988, 5:22 PM EDT for Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It was in force for 68 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 9, 1988, 5:22 PM EDT (21:22 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 1988, 6:30 PM EDT
In force: 68 min
Issued by: NWS Cleveland, OH
Area: Whole counties

County Cuyahoga County, OH

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 9, 5:30 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 62	Cuyahoga, OH
May 9, 5:50 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61	Cuyahoga, OH

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 178 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1751 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 114 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 117 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCLE 092123
TORCLE
OHC035-092230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
522 PM EDT MON MAY 9 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CLEVELAND HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHEAST OHIO
          ...CUYAHOGA
 
WEATHER RADAR AT 5 15 PM EDT INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN EXTREME
WESTERN CUYAHOGA COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND
SOULD BE EAST OF CLEVELAND BY AROUND 6 PM.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. PROTECT YOUR HEAD... CHEST AND EXPOSED SKIN.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AND
PUT AS MANY WALLS AS POSSIBLE BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THE STORM.
AVOID WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 9, 11:52 AM EDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1152 AM EDT MON MAY 9 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTHWEST
OHIO UNTIL 7 PM EDT.

AN AREA OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING ALONG A COLD FRONT
IN INDIANA. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AROUND 45 MPH AND WILL
MOVE INTO NORTHWEST OHIO THIS AFTERNOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS.7.. FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE POSSIBLE ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS.

SJN

Special weather statement, May 9, 12:40 PM EDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1240 PM EDT MON MAY 9 1988

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST OHIO UNTIL 7 PM EDT.

AT 1235 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN INDIANA. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST
AROUND 40 MPH AND WILL SPREAD INTO WESTERN OHIO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...
DAMAGING WINDS... FREyQUENT LIGHTNING AND TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH
AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE POSSIBLE
ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS.

SJN

Special weather statement, May 9, 1:40 PM EDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
140 PM EDT MON MAY 9 1988

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN OHIO UNTIL 7 PM EDT.

AT 135 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
FROM FLINT MICHGIAN TO FORT WAYNE INDANIA. FORT WAYNE REPORTED ONE
INCH HAIL WHEN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PASSED TO THEIR SOUTH. THE STORMS
WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND WILL SPREAD INTO WESTERN OHIO THIS
AFTERNOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL
DAMAGING WINDS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH
AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE POSSIBLE
ISSUANCE OF WARNING.

JOHNSON

Special weather statement, May 9, 2:40 PM EDT, 2 hours 42 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
240 PM EDT MON MAY 9 1988

TORNADO WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN OHIO UNTIL 7 PM EDT AND
FOR NORTHEASTERN OHIO UNTIL 9 PM EDT.

AT 235 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SCATTERED TO BROKEN
THUNDERSTORM FROM DETROIT MICHGIAN TO 30 MILES WEST OF DAYTON OHIO. THE
STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND THEY WILL BE NEAR A SANDUSKY
TO SPRINGFIELD LINE BY 400 PM.

THREE QUARTER INCH HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED OVER NORTHWEST PUTMAN COUNTY.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING
WINDS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA
SHOULD STAY ALERT TO CHANGING WEATYHER CONDITIONS AND THE POSSIBLE
ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS.

JOHNSON

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 1:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Fulton	68 min
May 9, 2:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Henry	44 min
May 9, 2:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Putnam	32 min
May 9, 2:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Lucas	30 min
May 9, 3:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie, Huron	50 min
May 9, 4:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Medina	46 min
May 9, 5:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Cuyahoga, Summit	57 min
May 9, 5:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Wayne	64 min
May 9, 5:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Geauga	55 min
May 9, 5:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Lake	43 min
May 9, 5:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Coshocton	58 min
May 9, 6:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Ashtabula	51 min
May 9, 6:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Guernsey	64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Ohio, 1988 Every tornado warning in 1988 Tornadoes in 1988

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.