Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 23, NWS Omaha, NE
NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1998, 6:30 PM CDT for Washington County, Nebraska. It was in force for 50 min. 3 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
- May 24, 1998, 6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 1998, 7:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Omaha, NE
- Area
- Whole counties
County Washington County, NE
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 6:35 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 61 | Arlington, NE | |
| May 24, 6:35 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Arlington, NE | |
| May 24, 7:15 PM CDT | Hail 1.25 | Ft Calhoun, NE |
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
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 27 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 911 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 92 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 87 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KOMA 242330 RRA TOROMA NEC177-250020- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 630 PM CDT SUN MAY 24 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WASHINGTON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA * UNTIL 720 PM CDT * AT 629 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 27 MILES NORTHWEST OF DOWNTOWN OMAHA OR 8 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF KENNARD MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... KENNARD AT 635 PM CDT WASHINGTON AT 635 PM CDT FT CALHOUN AT 650 PM CDT PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE bSHELTER IN A BASEMENT IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED. SMITH
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, May 24, 5:30 PM CDT, 1 hour before
NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093- IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-251200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 530 PM CDT SUN MAY 24 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA... SPOTTER ACTION... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT IN EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. DISCUSSION... AN UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE OVER COLORADO IS SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD AND MAY HELP TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWESTERN IOWA. ALTHOUGH THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IS THE GREATEST OVER KANSAS WHERE THE AIR MASS IS THE MOST UNSTABLE...SOME STORMS MAY DEVELOP AND BECOME SEVERE OVER NEBRASKA. THE PRIMARY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT WITH ANY OF THESE STORMS WOULD BE LARGE HAIL. SMITH
Special weather statement, May 24, 5:30 PM CDT, 1 hour before
NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093- IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-251200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 530 PM CDT SUN MAY 24 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA... SPOTTER ACTION... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT IN EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. DISCUSSION... AN UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE OVER COLORADO IS SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD AND MAY HELP TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWESTERN IOWA. ALTHOUGH THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IS THE GREATEST OVER KANSAS WHERE THE AIR MASS IS THE MOST UNSTABLE...SOME STORMS MAY DEVELOP AND BECOME SEVERE OVER NEBRASKA. THE PRIMARY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT WITH ANY OF THESE STORMS WOULD BE LARGE HAIL. SMITH
The office that day
Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 11:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Seward | 49 min |
| May 24, 6:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OAX | Dodge | 49 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 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.