Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Miami, FL
NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 2, 1998, 6:00 PM EST for Monroe County, Florida. It was in force for 65 min. 3 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
- Feb 2, 1998, 6:00 PM EST (23:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 2, 1998, 7:05 PM EST
- In force
- 65 min
- Issued by
- NWS Miami, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Monroe County, FL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2, 6:45 PM EST | Hail 1.75 | Marathon, FL | Golf ball size hail. Several trees blown down. |
| Feb 2, 6:47 PM EST | Tornado F1 | Marathon, FL | Tornado moved from south across Grassy Key near MM 56.5. |
| Feb 2, 7:10 PM EST | Tornado F0 | Islamorada, FL | Tornado moved from the south across Islamorada near MM 80. Extensive damage to homes and businesses. Widespread tree and vegetation loss. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2, 2:00 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 69 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 121 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 715 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 176 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 279 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
069 WFUS1 KMIA 022302 RRA TORMIA FLC087-030005- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 600 PM EST MON FEB 2 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI FL HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 705 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA ...MONROE MIDDLE KEYS ...MONROE LOWER KEYS AT 559 PM EST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BOOT KEY. THE ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE PILLOWS TO PROTECT YOUR HEAD. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING. DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR VEHICLE. DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STURDY STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SAFETY IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Miami, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2, 3:32 PM EST | Tornado Warning | MFL | Monroe | 118 min |
| Feb 2, 3:51 PM EST | Tornado Warning | MFL | Monroe | 119 min |
| Feb 2, 4:16 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Monroe | 59 min |
| Feb 2, 4:54 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Collier, Monroe | 91 min |
| Feb 2, 5:27 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Monroe | 93 min |
| Feb 2, 5:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Miami-Dade | 57 min |
| Feb 2, 6:19 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Broward | 61 min |
| Feb 2, 6:25 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Collier, Monroe | 95 min |
| Feb 2, 6:39 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MFL | Miami-Dade | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 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.