Alert archive / Oregon / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS Medford, OR

May 6, 1998Lake County, Oregon

NWS Medford, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 6, 1998, 5:23 PM PDT for Lake County, Oregon. It was in force for 37 min. 1 report 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: May 6, 1998, 5:23 PM PDT (00:23 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 1998, 6:00 PM PDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Medford, OR
Area: Whole counties

County Lake County, OR

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 6, 5:30 PM PDT	Hail 0.75	Summer Lake, OR

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 nearest sounding before it

Medford/Jackson, OR (KMFR), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 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-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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1269 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

807 
WUUS1 KMFR 070024 RRA
SVRMFR
ORC037-070100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
523 PM PDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN LAKE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON

* UNTIL 600 PM PDT

* AT 520 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FORT ROCK VICINITY... MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH.

* THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE VERY
  HEAVY RAIN. STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

FOSTER

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.

NWS Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 6, 2:30 PM PDT, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 6, 2:30 PM PDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT WED MAY 06 1998

SCT SHRA/TSRA POPPING UP IN LAKE...KLAMATH...AND MODOC COUNTIES ATTM.
WITH THETA-E RIDGE STRECTHED ACRS SRN ORE/EXTRM NERN CA WOULD EXPECT
CONTINUED DEVELOPEMENT CASCADES EWD. ONSHORE FLOW AND MCLDY SKIES
STABILIZING AIRMASS W OF CASCADES BUT SCTD SHRA OR SPRINKLES STILL
POSSIBLE.  ALTHOUGH MID-UPR LVL ELY FLOW WILL PERSIST INTO THU THE
STUBBORN UPR LOW WILL LOSE MORE OF ITS INFLUENCE AS A RIDGE BUILDS
INTO THE COUNTY WARNING AREA.  ONLY ISOLATED TSRA POSSIBLE OVR THE
MTNS OF SC ORE AND NERN CA.  LOW LVL FLOW WILL CONTINUE ONSHORE AND
STRENGHTEN.  MARINE CLOUDS HAVING DIFFICULT TIME CLEARING OUT THIS
AFTN AND THAT WILL LIKELY BE THE CASE THROUGH FRI. NEXT TROUGH
SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE ON THE COAST LATE FRI AFTN. LIMITED OMEGA FIELD
TO SUPPORT ONLY FEW SHRA OR SPINKLES ON THE COAST. WILL STAY CLOSER
TO AVN TEMPS WHICH LOOKS MORE REASONABLE WITH INTRUSION OF MARINE AIR
AND CLOUD COVER. IN THE EXTENDED... TROUGH PASSES BY SAT FOR COOLER
TEMPS AND A FEW INSTABILITY SHRA.  SUN LOOKS MOSTLY DRY WITH SOME
RIDGING ALG THE PAC NW COAST. FOSTER

.KMFR...NONE

.KMAX...VCP 21

...SEE PDXCCFPDX FOR CODED CITIES FORECAST

MFR BB 050/072 048/069 046 103111
LMT BB 042/067 041/066 039 105111
RBG BB 051/069 049/067 047 103112
4BK EE 051/061 049/061 047 101112
OTH EE 051/061 049/060 049 101113
YKA BB 044/070 043/067 042 103111
MHS BB 042/067 041/066 041 103111
S11 BB 042/068 039/067 038 105111

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 6, 5:16 PM PDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
516 PM PDT WED MAY 06 1998

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0514 PM    FT ROCK                   OR   .5 INCH HAIL
05/06/98   LAKE                           SPOTTER AT FORT ROCK LA113
                                          REPORTS MARBLE SIZED HAIL
                                          AND HEAVY RAIN.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Medford, OR issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 6:10 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFR	Lake	40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oregon, 1998 Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.