Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Omaha, NE

May 15, 1998Lancaster County, Otoe County, Nebraska

NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1998, 8:50 AM CDT for Lancaster County, Otoe County, Nebraska. It was in force for 65 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 15, 1998, 8:50 AM CDT (13:50 UTC)
Expired: May 15, 1998, 9:55 AM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Omaha, NE
Area: Whole counties

Counties Lancaster County, NE, Otoe County, NE

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 15, 9:14 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 64	Douglas, NE	Semi truck overturned. 7000 square foot pole barn destroyed west of Syracuse. Hay sheds flattened. Most damage confined to an area between Douglas/Syracuse/and Unadilla.

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
May 15, 7:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 67 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: 1194 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -370 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1627 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

149 
WFUS1 KOMA 151351 RRA
TOROMA
NEC109-131-151455-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
850 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LANCASTER COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA
  OTOE COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 955 AM CDT

* AT 848 AM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LINCOLN OR 9 MILES SOUTH
  SOUTHWEST OF DOUGLAS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. AT FILLEY
  60 TO 70 MPH WINDS WERE REPORTED AT 845 AM.  AT ROCKFORD SILOS WERE
  REPORTED TO BE KNOKED DOWN AT 835 AM.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  DOUGLAS                      AT 850 AM CDT
  PALMYRA                      AT 900 AM CDT
  UNADILLA                     AT 900 AM CDT

TAKE COVER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IMMEDIATELY.
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  DAMAGE REPORTS OR OBSERVED SEVERE WEATHER
CAN BE GIVEN TO A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

BYRD


&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 7:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Gage, Jefferson, Pawnee	48 min
May 15, 8:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Johnson, Nemaha	61 min
May 15, 8:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Gage, Jefferson	61 min
May 15, 8:28 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Gage	47 min
May 15, 8:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Lancaster, Otoe	61 min
May 15, 8:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Cass	62 min
May 15, 9:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders	65 min
May 15, 9:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Washington	61 min
May 15, 9:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Dodge	61 min
May 15, 9:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Burt	63 min
May 15, 9:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Cuming	63 min
May 15, 10:13 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Douglas	32 min
May 15, 10:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Thurston	63 min
May 15, 12:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Butler, Colfax, Platte	65 min
May 15, 1:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Platte	48 min
May 15, 1:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Madison, Stanton	62 min
May 15, 1:49 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Madison, Stanton	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 1998 Every tornado warning in 1998 Tornadoes 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.