Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 27, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 15, 1998Franklin County, Gasconade County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1998, 3:26 PM CDT for Franklin County, Gasconade County, Missouri. It was in force for 49 min. 6 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: Apr 15, 1998, 3:26 PM CDT (20:26 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 1998, 4:15 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS St. Louis, MO
Area: Whole counties

Counties Franklin County, MO, Gasconade County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:26 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 15, 3:39 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Bland, MO	The public reported 3/4 inch hail in south Gasconade County.
Apr 15, 3:50 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Canaan, MO
Apr 15, 3:56 PM CDT	Hail 1	Owensville, MO
Apr 15, 4:14 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	St Clair, MO
Apr 15, 4:20 PM CDT	Hail 1	St Clair, MO
Apr 15, 4:25 PM CDT	Hail 1	Gerald, MO	Spotters reported 1 inch hail.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 15, 1:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 278 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 557 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 846 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 280 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 315 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

727 
WFUS1 KSTL 152027 RRA
TORSTL
MOC071-073-152115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
326 PM CDT WED APR 15 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  SOUTHERN GASCONADE COUNTY IN EASTERN MISSOURI

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 325 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO JUST SOUTHWEST OF BELLE MISSOURI... MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED...
  BLAND
  BEM
  OWENSVILLE
  OAK GROVE
  STANTON



SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60
MPH...DAMAGING HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. MOVE
TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OR YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.
HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE
WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE
WARNING.

PEDIGO

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 7:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Iron, Reynolds	44 min
Apr 15, 2:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Cole, Osage	47 min
Apr 15, 3:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Osage	48 min
Apr 15, 4:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Franklin	49 min
Apr 15, 4:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Jefferson	65 min
Apr 15, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Jefferson, Saint Louis	61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 1998 Every tornado warning in 1998 Tornadoes 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.