Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 11, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

May 29, 1998Middlesex County, Worcester County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 29, 1998, 6:03 PM EDT for Middlesex County, Worcester County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 42 min. 3 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 29, 1998, 6:03 PM EDT (22:03 UTC)
Expired: May 29, 1998, 6:45 PM EDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Middlesex County, MA, Worcester County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:03 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

Time	Report	Where
May 29, 6:17 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Fitchburg, MA
May 29, 6:25 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	West Brookfield, MA
May 29, 6:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Tyngsboro, MA

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 29, 3:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 162 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: 1502 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 43 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 KBOS 292203 RRA
SVRBOS
CTC013-MAC017-027-292245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
603 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY IN CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS
  NORTHERN MIDDLESEX COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
  AND ALL OF TOLLAND COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT

* AT 557 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM NEAR WEARE NEW
  HAMPSHIRE SOUTHWEST THROUGH BARRE MASSACHUSETTS AND THEN TO
  HARTLAND CONNECTICUT. IT WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH.

* TOWNS IN/NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  WORCESTER...FITCHBURG AND THE LOWELL AREA.

THIS LINE OF STORMS HAS PRODUCED NUMEEROUS REPORTS OF TREES DOWN
INCLUDING DAMAGE TO CARS AS IT PASSED THROUGH SOUTHWEST NEW
HAMPSHIRE AND THE WESTERN THIRD OF MASSACHUSETTS. THERE ARE
INCREASING REPORTS OF SMALL HAIL WITH THIS LINE.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND/OR WINDS STRONG ENOUGH
TO KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.  MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.

LJC/DRAG

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 29, 5:30 PM EDT, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
530 PM EST MAY 29 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

505 PM     CHARLEMONT                MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   FRANKLIN                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

GIRODO

Local storm report, May 29, 5:44 PM EDT, 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
545 PM EST MAY 29 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

505 PM     CHARLEMONT                MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   FRANKLIN                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

530 PM     WALPOLE                   NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       TREES DOWN

530 PM     WESTMORELAND              NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       LARGE LIMBS DOWN

GIRODO

Local storm report, May 29, 5:51 PM EDT, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
545 PM EST MAY 29 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

505 PM     CHARLEMONT                MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   FRANKLIN                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

530 PM     WALPOLE                   NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       TREES DOWN

530 PM     WESTMORELAND              NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       LARGE LIMBS DOWN

545 PM     RUSSELL                   MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   HAMPDEN                        LARGE TREE DWON

GIRODO

Local storm report, May 29, 5:56 PM EDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
555 PM EST MAY 29 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

505 PM     CHARLEMONT                MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   FRANKLIN                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

530 PM     WALPOLE                   NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       TREES DOWN

530 PM     WESTMORELAND              NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       LARGE LIMBS DOWN

545 PM     RUSSELL                   MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   HAMPDEN                        LARGE TREE DOWN

553 PM     ATHOL                     MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   WORCESTER                      TREES DOWN ON
                                          3 VEHICLES

GIRODO

Local storm report, May 29, 5:56 PM EDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
555 PM EST MAY 29 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

505 PM     CHARLEMONT                MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   FRANKLIN                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

530 PM     WALPOLE                   NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       TREES DOWN

530 PM     WESTMORELAND              NH   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   CHESHIRE                       LARGE LIMBS DOWN

545 PM     RUSSELL                   MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   HAMPDEN                        LARGE TREE DOWN

553 PM     ATHOL                     MA   WIND DAMAGE
05/29/98   WORCESTER                      TREES DOWN ON
                                          3 VEHICLES

GIRODO

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 29, 5:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire	31 min
May 29, 5:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Franklin	29 min
May 29, 5:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Worcester	46 min
May 29, 5:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire	46 min
May 29, 6:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Essex, Middlesex, Worcester	62 min
May 29, 7:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk	44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Massachusetts, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.