Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 78, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

July 23, 1998Suffolk County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 1998, 2:27 PM EDT for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 1998, 2:27 PM EDT (18:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 1998, 3:15 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area
Whole counties

County Suffolk County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:29 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 23, 12:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 118 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, Chatham, MA at 12:00Z on 1998-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Chatham, MA at 12:00Z on 1998-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1192 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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.

198 
WUUS1 KBOS 231826 RRA
SVRBOS
ANZ230-250-MAC025-231915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
227 PM EDT THU JUL 23 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SUFFOLK COUNTY INCLUDING ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS IN EASTERN
  MASSACHUSETTS

* UNTIL 315 PM EDT

* AT 226 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR LEXINGTON AND WALTHAM...MOVING EAST AT 35
  MPH.

* TOWNS IN/NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  BOSTON
  CHELSEA
  REVERE

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

GAF/WD

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, Jul 23, 1:22 PM EDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
122 PM EDT THU JUL 23 1998

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

0112 PM    ACTON                     MA   .75 INCH HAIL
07/23/98   MIDDLESEX                      DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER IN ACTON.
Local storm report, Jul 23, 2:19 PM EDT, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
219 PM EDT THU JUL 23 1998

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

0112 PM    ACTON                     MA   .75 INCH HAIL
07/23/98   MIDDLESEX                      DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER IN ACTON.

0118 PM    EAST LONGMEADOW           MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   HAMPDEN                        TREES DOWNED AS REPORTED
                                          BY POLICE.

0135 PM    MONSON                    MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   HAMPDEN                        TREES AND LARGE LIMBS
                                          DOWNED REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN.

0140 PM    SPENCER                   MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWNED.  REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN HAM.

0140 PM    SPENCER                   MA   TORNADO
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      PUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN IN SPENCER.

0145 PM    DUDLEY                    MA   TORNADO
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      PUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN IN DUDLEY.
Local storm report, Jul 23, 2:19 PM EDT, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
219 PM EDT THU JUL 23 1998

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

0112 PM    ACTON                     MA   .75 INCH HAIL
07/23/98   MIDDLESEX                      DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER IN ACTON.

0118 PM    EAST LONGMEADOW           MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   HAMPDEN                        TREES DOWNED AS REPORTED
                                          BY POLICE.

0135 PM    MONSON                    MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   HAMPDEN                        TREES AND LARGE LIMBS
                                          DOWNED REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN.

0140 PM    SPENCER                   MA   WIND DAMAGE
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWNED.  REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN HAM.

0140 PM    SPENCER                   MA   TORNADO
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      PUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN IN SPENCER.

0145 PM    DUDLEY                    MA   TORNADO
07/23/98   WORCESTER                      PUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN IN DUDLEY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 1:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXMiddlesex46 min
Jul 23, 1:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXHampden, Worcester32 min
Jul 23, 1:45 PM EDTTornado WarningBOXWorcester50 min
Jul 23, 2:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXMiddlesex44 min
Jul 23, 2:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXEssex49 min
Jul 23, 2:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXNorfolk57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Massachusetts, 1998Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.