Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 10, NWS Omaha, NE
NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at Apr 14, 1998, 9:50 PM CDT for Page County, Iowa. It was in force for 30 min. 6 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
- Apr 14, 1998, 9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 14, 1998, 10:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Omaha, NE
- Area
- Whole counties
County Page County, IA
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:50 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 9:50 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Blanchard, IA | Damage to a grain bin |
| Apr 14, 9:58 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Essex, IA | |
| Apr 14, 10:05 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Shambaugh, IA | |
| Apr 14, 10:05 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | College Spgs, IA | |
| Apr 14, 10:05 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | College Spgs, IA | Tree blown down onto a trailer. |
| Apr 14, 10:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Braddyville, IA | Several barns and outbuildings in rural areas near Braddyville were damaged or destroyed. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 6:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -139 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1639 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 141 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 444 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KOMA 150250 RRA TOROMA IAC145-150320- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 950 PM CDT TUE APR 14 1998 * TORNADO WARNING FOR PAGE COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN IOWA * UNTIL 1020 PM CDT * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED NORTHBORO NOW BLANCHARD NOW COIN BY AROUND 955 PM CDT COLLEGE SPRINGS BY AROUND 1000 PM CDT YORKTOWN BY AROUND 1010 PM CDT SHAMBAUGH BY AROUND 1010 PM CDT * AT 947 PM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 39 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF FALLS CITY OR 3 MILES WEST OF BLANCHARD MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. TORNADO REPORTED NEAR TARKIO MISSOURI MOVING NORTHEAST. PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A BASEMENT IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BFE ABANDONED. POWERS
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Apr 14, 5:06 PM CDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093- IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-151200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 250 PM CDT TUE APR 14 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA... ...SPOTTER ACTION... SPOTTERS SHOULD CONTINUE IN A HIGH STATE OF READINESS IN SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH THE EVENING. A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF SOUTHERN AND EASTERN NEBRASKA UNTIL 9 PM CDT. SOME STORMS COULD ALSO BECOME SEVERE IN THE AREA JUST NORTH AND EAST OF THE WATCH. DISCUSSION... A WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT NORTH INTO THE AREA...PROVIDING A FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BE MOVING IN FROM THE WEST...WHILE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES FROM THE SOUTH. THE AMOUNT OF WIND SHEAR INDICATES POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS WITH TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. MILLER
Special weather statement, Apr 14, 5:18 PM CDT, 4 hours 32 minutes before
NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093- IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-151200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 518 PM CDT TUE APR 14 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA... ...SPOTTER ACTION... SPOTTERS SHOULD CONTINUE IN A HIGH STATE OF READINESS IN SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH THE EVENING. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN AND EASTERN NEBRASKA UNTIL 9 PM CDT. SOME STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE IN THE AREA JUST NORTH AND EAST OF THE WATCH LATER. SPOTTERS IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA IN COUNTIES SUCH AS GAGE...PAWNEE AND JOHNSON COUNTIES SHOULD BE DEPLOYED. DISCUSSION... A WARM FRONT CONTINUES TO LIFT NORTH INTO THE AREA...PROVIDING A FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THE FRONT AT 5 PM WAS ALONG THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BORDER. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEGUN TO DEVELOP ALONG THE WARM FRONT AND THE DRY LINE THAT TRAILS SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS. AS THE WARM FRONT MOVES NORTH AND A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES IN FROM THE WEST...STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AND MOVE INTO SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE AMOUNT OF WIND SHEAR INDICATES SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY WITH TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. IN ADDITION OTHER STORMS NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT MAY ALSO BECOME SEVERE WITH THE MAIN THREAT LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. SMITH
Special weather statement, Apr 14, 9:32 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
NEZ042>044-050-051-065>068-078-088-150310- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 932 PM CDT TUE APR 14 1998 ...TORNADO WATCH 208 EXPIRED... TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 208 ISSUED FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA HAS EXPIRED. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR SAUNDERS AND DODGE COUNTY UNTIL 1010 PM CDT. THESE STORMS ARE MAINLY EXPECTED TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN DODGE AND SAUNDERS COUNTY SHOULD STILL BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT HOUR. SMITH
Special weather statement, Apr 14, 9:32 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
NEZ042>044-050-051-065>068-078-088-150310- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 932 PM CDT TUE APR 14 1998 ...TORNADO WATCH 208 EXPIRED... TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 208 ISSUED FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA HAS EXPIRED. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR SAUNDERS AND DODGE COUNTY UNTIL 1010 PM CDT. THESE STORMS ARE MAINLY EXPECTED TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES. PEOPLE IN DODGE AND SAUNDERS COUNTY SHOULD STILL BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT HOUR. SMITH
The office that day
Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 9:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Harrison | 46 min |
| Apr 14, 10:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Page | 15 min |
| Apr 14, 10:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Harrison, Pottawattamie | 47 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.