Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 34, NWS Melbourne, FL
NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 9, 1998, 3:40 AM EST for Saint Lucie County, Florida. It was in force for 50 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
- Mar 9, 1998, 3:40 AM EST (08:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 9, 1998, 4:30 AM EST
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Melbourne, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Saint Lucie County, FL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9, 3:48 AM EST | Tornado F1 | Ft Pierce, FL | An F1 tornado touched down at the St. Lucie County Fair grounds destroying 20 amusement park rides, bleachers, and out buildings. The tornado then moved northeast toward the St. Lucie County Airport where it overturned 8 planes and destroyed a hanger. No one |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9, 1:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 00:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 174 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
- 1605 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 557 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 169 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 184 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.1
- Supercell composite
- 7.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMLB 090840 RRA TORMLB FLC111-090930- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 340 AM EST MON MAR 9 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE FL HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 AM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA ...ST. LUCIE COUNTY AT 335 AM...DOPPLER RADAR IN MELBOURNE INDICATED A TORNADIC CIRCULATION OVER ROUTE 70 MOVING OVER SOUTHWESTERN ST LUCIE COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THE CIRCULATION WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL MOVE ALONG ROUTE 70 THROUGH ST. LUCIE COUNTY THROUGH 415 AM. IF THE STORM CONTINUES ON THE PRESENT TRACK...IT WILL AFFECT AREAS FROM FT PIERCE THROUGH WHITE CITY BETWEEN 4 AND 415 AM. TORNADOES HAVE CAUSED DAMAGE EARLIER THIS MORNING ACROSS HIGHLANDS...OSCEOLA AND BREVARD COUNTIES. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES CAN BE TOSSED ABOUT BY TORNADO WINDS. DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR VEHICLE. ABANDON VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES WHEN THREATENED BY A TORNADO AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Melbourne, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 11:06 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Lake, Volusia | 59 min |
| Mar 9, 12:36 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Osceola | 64 min |
| Mar 9, 1:32 AM EST | Tornado Warning | MLB | Osceola | 48 min |
| Mar 9, 2:07 AM EST | Tornado Warning | MLB | Brevard | 63 min |
| Mar 9, 3:24 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Okeechobee | 31 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.