Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Hanford, CA

May 4, 1998Kings County, California

NWS Hanford, CA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 4, 1998, 5:54 PM PDT for Kings County, California. It was in force for 31 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
May 4, 1998, 5:54 PM PDT (00:54 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 1998, 6:25 PM PDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Hanford, CA
Area
Whole counties

County Kings County, CA

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 1998-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 119 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, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 1998-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
119 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
952 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 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 KFAT 050054 RRA
SVRFAT
CAC031-050125-

BULLETIN-EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
554 PM PDT MON MAY 4 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN AND WESTERN KINGS COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 625 PM PDT

* AT 550 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 15 SW OF CORCORAN...MOVING  NORTHEAST AT 20
  MPH.


* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CORCORAN AT 610 PM PDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM! STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

KRUZDLO

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.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 4, 2:30 PM PDT, 3 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 2:30 PM PDT, 3 hours 24 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
230 PM PDT MON MAY 04 1998

HNX 88-D SHOWS SHWRS AND TSTMS DVLPG W SD SJV OVR NWRN FAT COUNTY AND
WRN MCE COUNTY. MODIFIED SOUNDINGS GAVE AFTN LI/S OF -7 TO -9 AND HI
CAPES SO POTNL FOR MDT TSTMS THRU EVE HRS. AVN HS COLD POOL WTH TEMPS
COLDR THAN -21 C OVR CNTRL CA THRU 18Z WED AND STGST 850 MB RH/OMEGA
FIELDS TUE AFTN. 15Z MESO HS 850 MB CAPES OF 700-800 OVR CNTRL CA TUE
AFTN AND MODIFIED FCST FAT SNDG FOR 00Z WED GIVES CAPE OF 1500. THUS XPC
CONTD CHC AFTN/EVE TSTMS TUE WTH SOM MDT/STG CELLS.

UPSLOPE CLDS FORMG S SLOPES TSP MTNS AND CUD SEE SOM SPILL-OVR INTO FAR
S END SJV ESPCLY VCNTY TAFT/MARICOPA. SAT PIX SHO WK VORT APRCHG CA CST
NR SBA COUNTY. CIRCLN ARND VORT TRIGRG MTN CLDS AND AS VORT MOVS INLND
WL SEE SOM SHWRS THS EVE THRU OVRNGT HRS TSP MTNS. SN LVLS WL RNG FM
6.5K FT NR YNP TO 7K FT TSP MTNS WTH LTL CHG THRU FCST PD.

SAT LOOP SHOWS UPR LO NR 33N/131W SLOLY MOVG ESEWD TWD CA CST S VBG.
NXT SYS...CURR NR 56N/170W...WL BE KICKER TO SPEED 1ST LO ACRS CA
TUE/WED.

UNSETTLED WX TO CONT INTO WED WTH LTST MRF SHWG UPR LOW OVR CA. DCRSG
CHC OF SHWRS THU AS LO SHFTS E. TEMPS TO RMN MILD THRU MIDWK.

POPS FAT BFL 8865 YNP 9987. SANGER

.HNX...NONE.

FAT WE 057/072 053/075 054 90886
BFL WE 056/073 054/076 053 90886
YNP WW 045/053 044/056 043 90998

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 4, 2:27 PM PDT, 3 hours 27 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
0230 PM PST MON MAY 04 1998

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

0600 PM    3 NE BAKERSFIELD          CA   FLOODING
05/02/98   KERN                           RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAIN
                                          FLOODED STREETS AND SOME
                                          HOMES IN NE BAKERSFIELD.
                                          1.5" RAIN IN 1 HOUR WITH
                                          HIGHER AMOUNTS LIKELY BASED
                                          ON RADAR ESTIMATES. TRAFFIC
                                     t     ACCIDENTS DUE TO HYDROPLANING
                                          HIGHWAY 178 CLOSED.

DAN GUDGEL...WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST
NWSO SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
Local storm report, May 4, 3:30 PM PDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
0230 PM PST MON MAY 04 1998

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

0600 PM    3 NE BAKERSFIELD          CA   FLOODING
05/02/98   KERN                           RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAIN
                                          FLOODED STREETS AND SOME
                                          HOMES IN NE BAKERSFIELD.
                                          1.5 RAIN IN 1 HOUR WITH
                                          HIGHER AMOUNTS LIKELY BASED
                                          ON RADAR ESTIMATES. TRAFFIC
                                          ACCIDENTS DUE TO HYDROPLANING
                                          HIGHWAY 178 CLOSED.

DAN GUDGEL...WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST
NWSO SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hanford, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 6:38 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXKings37 min
May 5, 2:11 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXKern54 min
May 5, 2:23 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXFresno, Kings57 min
May 5, 3:27 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningHNXKern118 min
May 5, 4:38 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXMerced47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 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.