Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 61, NWS St. Louis, MO

June 12, 1998Madison County, Illinois; Saint Louis County, City of Saint Louis, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Jun 12, 1998, 5:42 PM CDT for Madison County, Illinois; Saint Louis County, City of Saint Louis, Missouri. It was in force for 48 min. 8 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
Jun 12, 1998, 5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
Expired
Jun 12, 1998, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Madison County, IL, City of Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 43 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:43 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 12, 5:46 PM CDTHail 1.75Florissant, MO
Jun 12, 5:50 PM CDTHail 2.75Bellefontaine Neighb, MO
Jun 12, 5:53 PM CDTHail 1Spanish Lake, MO
Jun 12, 6:01 PM CDTHail 1.75Edwardsville, IL
Jun 12, 6:03 PM CDTHail 1Edwardsville, IL
Jun 12, 6:10 PM CDTHail 1Troy, IL
Jun 12, 6:15 PM CDTHail 1Edwardsville, IL
Jun 12, 6:27 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Glen Carbon, IL

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 12, 4:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 211 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1998-06-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 538 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1998-06-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
538 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1016 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 122242 RRA
TORSTL
ILC119-MOC189-510-122330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
542 PM CDT FRI JUN 12 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MADISON COUNTY ILLINOIS IN SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS
  NORTHEASTERN AND NORTHERN ST LOUIS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  ST LOUIS CITY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 630 PM CDT

* AT 540 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF FLORRISANT... MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST
  AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH...
  FLORRISANT
  FERGUSON
  EDWARDSVILLE
  NORTHERN SECTIONS OF ST LOUIS CITY
  BLACK JACK
  DELLWOOD
  JENNINGS

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION! IF IN THE PATH...TAKE COVER NOW!
MOVE TO A BASEMENT IF AVAILABLE. IF NOT...STAY ON THE LOWEST LEVEL
AND GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM. MOBILE HOMES AND AUTOMOBILESHOULD
BE ABANDONED IN FAVOR OF A STRONG STRUCTURE. AS A LAST RESORT...
MOVE TO A DITCH OR CULVERT AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

METZE/TRUETT/GLASS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 12, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCalhoun47 min
Jun 12, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXGreene, Jersey47 min
Jun 12, 4:42 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMacoupin48 min
Jun 12, 5:04 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXCalhoun51 min
Jun 12, 5:09 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXBond, Madison51 min
Jun 12, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMontgomery63 min
Jun 12, 5:47 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXFayette, Marion48 min
Jun 12, 6:00 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMonroe, Randolph65 min
Jun 12, 6:18 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXClinton, Saint Clair47 min
Jun 12, 6:36 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMarion34 min
Jun 12, 4:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMontgomery33 min
Jun 12, 5:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXFranklin, Jefferson48 min
Jun 12, 5:36 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXJefferson34 min
Jun 12, 6:00 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXJefferson65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 1998Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.