Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

August 11, 1998Essex County, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 11, 1998, 9:53 PM EDT for Essex County, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 47 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
Aug 11, 1998, 9:53 PM EDT (01:53 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 1998, 10:40 PM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Essex County, MA, Middlesex County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 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
Aug 11, 10:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50Methuen, MA
Aug 11, 10:30 PM EDTHail 0.75Tewksbury, 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 nearest sounding before it

Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 00:00Z on 1998-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 310 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 00:00Z on 1998-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
310 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
786 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 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.

434 
WUUS1 KBOS 120155 RRA
SVRBOS
MAC009-017-120240-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
953 PM EDT TUE AUG 11 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN MIDDLESEX COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
  NORTHERN ESSEX COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS

* UNTIL 1040 PM EDT

* AT 948 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR BILLERICA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* TOWNS IN/NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  TEWKSBURY AT 10 PM
  ANDOVER AT 1015 PM

HAIL BETWEEN NICKEL AND QUARTER SIZE WAS REPORTED IN BILLERICA AT
950 PM.  THIS STORM WILL ALSO CONTAIN STRONG WIND GUSTS...FREQUENT
LIGHTNING AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS PRODUCING LOCAL STREET FLOODING.


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

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.