Alert archive / Florida / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Melbourne, FL

February 17, 1998Orange County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 17, 1998, 5:35 AM EST for Orange County, Florida. It was in force for 55 min. 2 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 17, 1998, 5:35 AM EST (10:35 UTC)
Expired
Feb 17, 1998, 6:30 AM EST
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Orange County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:39 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
Feb 17, 6:25 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 50Orlando, FLThunderstorm winds blew down trees in the east part of Orlando.
Feb 17, 6:30 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 50Bithlo, FLThunderstorm winds blew the roof off a garage in Bithlo.

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
Feb 17, 3:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 139 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1385 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 408 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
1385 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
408 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
419 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.3
Supercell composite
13.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMLB 171035 RRA
SVRMLB
FLC095-171130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
535 AM EST TUE FEB 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE FL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 630 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

   ...ORANGE COUNTY
 
AT 530 AM...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ABOUT TO ENTER ORANGE COUNTY NEAR THE DISNEY COMPLEX. THE STORMS
WILL MOVE NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH TO NEAR WINDERMERE AND OCOEE BY 545 AM.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE READY TO GO
TO A SAFE PLACE IF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE TOWARD YOUR AREA...
ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN A MOBILE HOME.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 58
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF A STRONG BUILDING. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

SHARP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 17, 4:13 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBLake42 min
Feb 17, 5:00 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBVolusia60 min
Feb 17, 5:50 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBOrange45 min
Feb 17, 6:19 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBSeminole46 min
Feb 17, 6:25 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOsceola60 min
Feb 17, 6:50 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard, Indian River, Volusia60 min
Feb 17, 6:55 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBVolusia50 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.