Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

March 7, 1998Gonzales County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at Mar 7, 1998, 7:15 PM CST for Gonzales County, Texas. It was in force for 45 min. 1 report 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
Mar 7, 1998, 7:15 PM CST (01:15 UTC)
Expired
Mar 7, 1998, 8:00 PM CST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Gonzales County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 7, 7:25 PM CSTTornado F0Smiley, TXSheriff's deputies reported a small, short-lived tornado near Smiley in open country. It dissipated rapidly.

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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 193 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 00:00Z on 1998-03-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 539 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1998-03-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
539 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-169 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
204 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSAT 080115 RRA
TORSAT
TXC177-080200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
715 PM CST SAT MAR 7 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...GONZALES COUNTY
 
RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO DEVELOPING NEAR LULING OF CALDWELL
COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS ALSO PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AS IT MOVED SOUTHEAST
AT 45 MPH.
 
RESIDENTS IN OTTINE AND GONZALES SHOULD TAKE COVER NOW.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 7, 6:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXComal42 min
Mar 7, 6:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXGuadalupe60 min
Mar 7, 6:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXCaldwell31 min
Mar 7, 7:04 PM CSTTornado WarningEWXGuadalupe26 min
Mar 7, 8:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXFrio, Medina56 min
Mar 7, 9:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXWilliamson67 min
Mar 7, 9:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXAtascosa, Bexar37 min
Mar 7, 9:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXWilson57 min
Mar 7, 9:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXAtascosa34 min
Mar 7, 10:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXDeWitt, Gonzales, Karnes, Lavaca58 min

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.