Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Corpus Christi, TX

October 17, 1998Victoria County, Texas

NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 17, 1998, 6:38 PM CDT for Victoria County, Texas. It was in force for 42 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
Oct 17, 1998, 6:38 PM CDT (23:38 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1998, 7:20 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Corpus Christi, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Victoria County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:42 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 nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 124 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-10-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2241 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1998-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 90 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
2241 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
529 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

564 
WFUS1 KCRP 172339 RRA
TORCRP
TXC469-180025-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
638 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  VICTORIA IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 720 PM CDT

* AT 630 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 12 MILES SOUTH OF VICTORIA NEAR BLOOMINGTON... MOVING NORTH
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  DOCASTA AT 645 PM CDT
  JUST EAST OF VICTORIA AT 650 PM CDT

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR




&

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 Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Oct 17, 2:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 17, 2:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
245 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

THE BIG TIME CONVECTION DEVELOPED NORTH OF CWA IN RRQ OF JET THAT
ALSO IS BEING FEED TROPICAL MOISTURE FROM EASTERN PAC TROPICAL
SYSTEM.  MOST OF CWA HAS BEEN IN AREA OF WEAK ISENT LIFT AND
MOISTURE CONVERGENCE THAT IS SETTING OFF WIDELY SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE FRONT WILL ONLY MOVE TO JUST NORTH OF CWA AS SHORT
WAVE RIDGE DEVELOPS OVER WESTERN TX AHEAD SHORT WAVE TROF MOVING
INTO BAJA.  LOOKS LIKE FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH LATE MONDAY OR MONDAY
NIGHT.  THIS LEAVES CWA IN INTERESTING SITUATION...WITH PLENTY OF
MOISTURE...THE FRONT...HIGH THETA-E AIR...ISENT LIFT...HOWEVER AT
LEAST THOUGH SUNDAY THE BEST OF ALL OF THE ABOVE REMAIN OVER HILL
COUNTRY AND IN FAR WESTERN CWA.  WILL HOLD ON ANY FFA FOR NOW AND
SEE HOW THE ATMOSPHERE READJUSTS AFTER THE CONVECTION TO NORTH.  MY
FEELING NOW IS THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES MIGHT NEED AN FFA IF
THINGS REDEVELOP OVER HILL COUNTRY AND SPREAD SOUTH TONIGHT.  WITH
ALL OF THIS SAID...MY MODEL OF CHOICE CONTINUES TO BE THE AVN BUT
WILL BLEND IN SOME ISENT DATA FROM ETA EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE SOME
DIABATIC AFFECTS GOING ON.  WILL KEEP SKIES MOCLD THROUGH PERIOD AND
WILL TREND TEMPS AND POPS TOWARDS FAN GUIDANCE. HOWEVER FAN MAY BE A
BIT TOO LOW FOR MINS AND WILL BUMP THOSE UP.

CRP TW 073/081 071/079 066 5644
NGP    076/082 074/080 067 5644
ALI    073/082 072/080 066 5644
VCT TW 072/081 069/080 067 5644
LRD TW 072/080 068/080 067 5754

78

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.