Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Aberdeen, SD

May 30, 1998Spink County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1998, 6:57 PM CDT for Spink County, South Dakota. It was in force for 33 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 30, 1998, 6:57 PM CDT (23:57 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1998, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Spink County, SD

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:55 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 30, 7:05 PM CDTHail 1.75Tulare, SD
May 30, 7:10 PM CDTHail 1.25Doland, SD

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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 30, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 6 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1998-05-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 781 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1998-05-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 211 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
781 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-281 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
851 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
300 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABR 302357 RRA
TORABR
SDC115-310030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
657 PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN SPINK COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 656 PM CDT... ABERDEEN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 36
  MILES NORTHWEST OF HURON OR 12 MILES WEST OF TULARE MOVING EAST AT
  25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  TULARE               AT 710 PM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

TDK/LVQ

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.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 30, 10:06 AM CDT, 8 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 10:06 AM CDT, 8 hours 51 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTH CENTRAL/NORTHEAST SD
AND FOR TRAVERSE/BIG STONE COUNTIES OF MN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
10AM CDT SAT MAY 30 1998

MORNING SOUNDING A LOADED GUN WITH CAPES 2000+ J/KG AND LI -9. MORN
SFC ANALYSIS SHOULD A CHAOTIC PATTERN WITH MAIN SFC LOW VCNTY OF PIR
WITH TROF BACK TO NW SD AND WARM FRNT E-SE INTO N IA.  MEANWHILE
ALOFT STRONG CAPPING INTO PARTS OF NE. ALSO OUTFLO HAS BEEN PUHING
SOUTH THRU ABR AREA. JUST TOOK A LOOK AT 12Z MODELS AND THEY ARE
REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL TIMING FROM YESTEDAYS RUN.
STILL NOT SURE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT IDEA FOR TODAY. ANYWAY WILL HAVE
TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES FOR DEVELOPMENT.
OVERNIGHT ACTIVITY MAY ALSO PUT A DAMPER ON ACTIVITY FOR TIME BEING
AND MAY ALSO HAVE TO LOWER SOME TEMPS.  UPDATE EXPECTED SOON.
WILL BE PERFORMING AN 18Z RELEASE PER REQUEST FROM SPC.

.ABR...NONE.
TDK

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 30, 3:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 10 minutes before
SDZ003>006-009-010-015>018-033>037-045-048-051-310245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
346 PM CDT (246 PM MDT) SAT MAY 30 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 467 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF CENTRAL
AND PARTS OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA ARE EXPECTED TO
INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND MOVE EAST OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA THIS EVENING.

THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE VERY STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL...
ESPECIALLY AS THEY MOVE INTO MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS EAST OF THE
MISSOURI RIVER.

THE WATCH AREA INCLUDES SUCH COMMUNITIES AS ABERDEEN...MOBRIDGE...
MILLER...PIERRE...MURDO...GETTYSBURG AND REDFIELD.

IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA PLEASE STAY CLOSE TO A RADIO OR TV FOR
ANY FURTHER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.  IF A WARNING IS ISSUED TAKE
COVER IMMEDIATELY.

TDK
Special weather statement, May 30, 4:03 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
MNZ039-046-SDZ007-008-011-019>023-310305-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
403 PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1998

...TORNADO WATCH 468 FOR NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA UNTIL 10 PM CDT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLY
TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA THIS
EVENING AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE EASTERN PART OF
THE STATE.

SOME COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THIS TORNADO WATCH ARE BRITTON...
WEBSTER...WATERTOWN...SISSETON...WHEATON...ORTONVILLE...CLARK AND
MILBANK.

REMEMBER... A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN
AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS... AND
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO SEEK A PLACE OF
SAFETY IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA.

TDK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Aberdeen, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 3:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall61 min
May 30, 3:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRRoberts62 min
May 30, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRJones, Stanley62 min
May 30, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRFaulk, Hand60 min
May 30, 6:39 PM CDTTornado WarningABRHand51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.