Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 11, NWS Miami, FL

February 2, 1998Palm Beach County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 2, 1998, 8:52 PM EST for Palm Beach County, Florida. It was in force for 63 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
Feb 2, 1998, 8:52 PM EST (01:52 UTC)
Expired
Feb 2, 1998, 9:55 PM EST
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Palm Beach County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 115 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 2, 8:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 203 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 42 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 317 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
42 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
645 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
317 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
448 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

850 
WUUS1 KMIA 030154 RRA
SVRMIA
AMZ610-650-670-FLC099-030255-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
852 PM EST MON FEB 2 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI FL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 955 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA

   ...PALM BEACH COUNTY INCLUDING ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

AT 850 PM EST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
MOVING INTO SOUTHEAST PALM BEACH COUNTY FROM BROWARD COUNTY. OTHER
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN BROWARD COUNTY AND
WILL MOVE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH INTO EASTERN PALM BEACH COUNTY.


IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK REFUGE FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING. DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
LARGE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. SEEK SHELTER
IN A STRONG BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 2, 8:37 PM EST, 15 minutes before
AMZ610-630-631-650>654-656-670>676-FLZ063-066>078-031100-

SOUTH FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
830 PM EST MON FEB 3 1998

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM...
...GALE WARNING TONIGHT...
...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...
...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT...

GALE WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL WATERS OF SOUTH
FLORIDA AND A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE MAINLAND
AND THE KEYS. SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 KTS OVER THE WATER
AND 25 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS OVER THE MAINLAND AND THE
KEYS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT.

MOTORISTS...ESPECIALLY THOSE DRIVING HIGH WIND PROFILE VEHICLES
ARE ADVISED TO DRIVE WITH EXTRA CARE DUE TO STRONG WIND GUSTS.

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDE CONDITIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED WITH MINOR
COASTAL FLOODING POSSIBLE ACROSS THE KEYS DURING THE TIME OF HIGH
TIDE.

THE WINDS ARE THE RESULT OF A DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE IN THE CENTRAL
GULF OF MEXICO. SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERpSTORMS WILL
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTH FLORIDA TONIGHT. THESE STORMS WILL
BRING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WIND GUSTS AND POSSIBLE TORADOES.
Local storm report, Feb 2, 8:45 PM EST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
845 PM EST MON FEB 2 1998

TIMEEST  .....CITY LOCATION..... 	STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
5PM - 6AM   BOYNTON BEACH -PALM BEACH   FL 	1.50 INCHES LAST 30 MINS.
                                             	SOME FLOODING EARLIER.
8:30PM-7AM  PBI INTL. APT.-PALM BEACH   FL      8.17 INCHES OF RAIN.
322 PM      BOCA RATON              	FL      FUNNEL CLOUD.
340 PM      DUCK KEY	-MONROE	    	FL      WIND GUSTING TO 65 KTS.
430 PM      BIG PINE KEY            	FL 	TWO DOWNED TREES ON HOUSE
                			       	DUE TO HEAVY WINDS.
525 PM      CONCH KEY		    	FL      WIND GUSTING TO 71 KTS.
540 PM      DUCK KEY                	FL      SUSTAINED WIND 50 KTS.
545 PM      DUCK KEY                	FL      SUSTAINED WIND 65G80 MPH.
550 PM      DUCK KEY                	FL      WIND 60G85 KTS.
615 PM      CONCH KEY               	FL      WIND 36G46 KTS.
635 PM      MARCO ISLAND -COLLIER   	FL      POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD.
645 PM 	    MARATHON -MONROE		FL	GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.
						TREES DOWN.
710 PM 	    CONCH KEY -MONROE		FL	TORNADO ON GROUND.
						DAMAGE TO FIREHOUSE.
715 PM	    GRASSY KEY -MONROE		FL	MANGROVE TREES UPROOTED.
						POWER POLES DOWN.
715 PM	    GRASSY KEY -MONROE		FL	700PM TORNADO TORE ROOF OF HOUSE.
715 PM	    RESORT AT MARATHON -MONROE	FL	TORNADO ON GROUND.
						INJURIES REPORTED.
730 PM	    VIRGINIA KEY -MIAMI-DADE	FL	WIND GUSTS 40-50 MPH.
						POWER OUT FOR 2 HRS AT
						VIRGINIA KEY AND KEY BISCAYNE.
730 PM	    PALMETTO XPRESSWAY
	    AND MILLER ROAD -MIAMI-DADE	FL	UNCONFIRMED TORNADO.
815 PM	    10 MILES SOUTH OF MIAMI	FL	WIND GUST TO 70 MPH.
835 PM	    HOLLYWOOD -BROWARD 		FL	WIND GUST TO 90 KTS.
840 PM	    OPA LOCKA APT -MIAMI-DADE	FL	TORNADO TOUCHDOWN.
900 PM	    BROWARD COUNTY		FL	MAJOR STREET FLOODING.
						POWER OUTAGES AT DANIA
						AND PEMBROKE PINES.
905 PM	    BROWARD COUNTY		FL	SMALL HAIL AT CORAL SPRINGS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Miami, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 2, 7:02 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMonroe58 min
Feb 2, 7:18 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMiami-Dade52 min
Feb 2, 7:23 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMonroe62 min
Feb 2, 7:34 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLMiami-Dade61 min
Feb 2, 8:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLBroward63 min
Feb 2, 8:29 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLBroward, Miami-Dade61 min
Feb 2, 8:31 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMonroe59 min
Feb 2, 10:18 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLPalm Beach62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Florida, 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.