Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Los Angeles, CA

March 13, 1998Los Angeles County, California

NWS Los Angeles, CA issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1998, 8:00 PM PST for Los Angeles County, California. It was in force for 60 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
Mar 13, 1998, 8:00 PM PST (04:00 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1998, 9:00 PM PST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Los Angeles, CA
Area
Whole counties

County Los Angeles County, CA

The radar

The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:01 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 text

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

835 
WFUS1 KLAX 140404 RRA
TORLAX
CAC037-PZZ655-140500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
800 PM PST FRI MAR 13 1998

...THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 900 PM 
   FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:

      SOUTHERN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
      ...AFFECTING THE CITIES OF LONG BEACH...TORRANCE...
         WILMINGTON...AND HAWTHORNE...

AT 755 PM...DOPPLER RADARS CONTINUE TO SHOW WIDESPREAD RAIN SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN LOS ANGELES COUNTY...EXTENDING
SOUTHWEST AND OFFSHORE. AT 730 PM...A SPOTTER REPORTED THAT A
TORNADO OCCURRED IN THE LONG BEACH AREA EARLIER THIS EVENING.
HOWEVER...OFFICIALS IN LONG BEACH WERE UNABLE TO CONFIRM THIS
REPORT.

EARLIER...THESE STORMS PRODUCED MULTIPLE WATERSPOUTS OVER THE SAN
PEDRO CHANNEL. ALTHOUGH DARKNESS HAS PREVENTED THE OBSERVATION OF
MORE WATERSPOUTS...DOPPLER RADARS SHOW WIND PATTERNS CONSISTENT
WITH CONTINUED WATERSPOUT ACTIVITY. THUS...THE THREAT FOR THESE
WATERPOUTS TO MOVE ONSHORE TO PRODUCE TORNADOES CONTINUES.  

TORNADOES PRESENT A PARTICULAR HAZARD AT NIGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE
DIFFICULT TO OBSERVE. HOWEVER...THEY SOMETIMES ARE REVEALED WHEN
POWER LINES OR TRANSFORMERS ARE DESTROYED IN A SHOWER OF ELECTRICAL
SPARKS. IF YOU OBSERVE A TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM OF A STRONG BUILDING. IF OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A LOW SPOT
LIKE A CULVERT OR DITCH.

DANIELSON/GOMBERG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 4:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles2 hr
Mar 13, 6:00 PM PSTTornado WarningLOXLos Angeles60 min
Mar 13, 6:25 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles2 hr
Mar 13, 7:05 PM PSTTornado WarningLOXLos Angeles55 min
Mar 13, 9:00 PM PSTTornado WarningLOXLos Angeles60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.