Alert archive / New York / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 6, NWS New York, NY

May 31, 1998Rockland County, New York

NWS New York, NY issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 9:56 PM EDT for Rockland County, New York. It was in force for 59 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 1998, 9:56 PM EDT (01:56 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1998, 10:55 PM EDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS New York, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Rockland County, NY

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 31, 5:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 102 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, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 151 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-06-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 233 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-348 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1224 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
319 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

254 
WFUS1 KNYC 010157 RRA
TORNYC
NYC071-079-087-010255-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
956 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ORANGE COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK
  PUTNAM COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK
  NORTHERN ROCKLAND IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK
* UNTIL 1055 PM EDT

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...   BREWSTER.

* AT 952 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A POSSIBLE TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MAHOPAC MOVING EAST AT 40
  MPH.
THIS STORM HAS A PAST HISTORY OF PRODUCING VERY GUSTY WINDS...
HAIL AND A POSSIBLE TORNADO.

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

KLEIN/MCKILLOP

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 31, 4:00 PM EDT, 5 hours 56 minutes before
NYZ067>081-NJZ002>006-011-CTZ005>012-010300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
AND MAP DISCUSSION FOR EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK...
NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
400 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

...POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY FOR THE REST OF TODAY
AND MOST OF TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN
OKLAHOMA IS FORECASTING A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE
HUDSON VALLEY AND NORTHWESTERN NEW JERSEY FOR LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.
THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ACROSS NORTHEASTERN NEW
JERSEY...NEW YORK CITY...AND CENTRAL AND WESTERN CONNECTICUT WITH A
SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT AND
LONG ISLAND.

A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA WILL MOVE FROM
WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE TRI-STATE AREA THIS EVENING...BRINGING
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE LOCAL AREA. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE
DAMAGING WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. CONDITIONS ARE ALSO FAVORABLE FOR AN
ISOLATED TORNADO. THESE STORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY
DOWNPOURS WHICH COULD CAUSE FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.

A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST TONIGHT. THE ENTIRE AREA
WILL BE UNSTABLE AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...SO THE THREAT FOR
DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE TRI-STATE AREA
UNTIL WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT. BE READY TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER RAPIDLY IF
SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES...ESPECIALLY IF YOU WILL BE OUTDOORS OR ON
THE WATER.

CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE LATE TONIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT PUSHES
OFFSHORE. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY. TEMPERATURES
WILL BE PLEASANT...BUT IT WILL REMAIN BREEZY.

HIGH PRESSURE WILL PROVIDE US WITH A CLEAR AND COOL NIGHT MONDAY
NIGHT AND FAIR WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY.

THE NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL COME FROM TUESDAY NIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY.

WOOL
Special weather statement, May 31, 6:13 PM EDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before
NYZ067>081-NJZ002>006-011-CTZ005>012-010400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - EVENING SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
613 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

...ROUGH AND TUMBLE WEATHER IN THE FORM OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS
HEADED FOR THE TRI-STATE REGION...

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE TRI-STATE REGION
AND IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM...

A VERY STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVING INTO SOUTHEASTERN CANADA WILL
BRING SOME VERY INTENSE WEATHER TO THE TRI-STATE REGION LATER THIS
EVENING.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF
UPSTATE NEW YORK THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON HOURS...AND SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA.

THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE ACROSS OUR REGION AS WELL...
AND SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE LATER THIS EVENING.  ANY SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS WELL OVER 60
MPH WHICH MAY DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES...LARGE HAIL.  CONDITIONS
ARE FAVORABLE FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES AS WELL.

CURRENT PROJECTIONS INDICATE THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO ARRIVE
IN THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY AROUND 730 PM...NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY BY
ABOUT 830 PM...AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT...NEW YORK CITY AND LONG
ISLAND WELL AFTER SUNSET.

ANYONE WITH OUTDOOR PLANS FOR THIS EVENING SHOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL
EYE TO THE SKY.  IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...BE PREPARED TO
SEEK SAFE SHELTER.  STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER MEDIA
OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST SHORT TERM FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

REYNOLDS / NWSFO BROOKHAVEN NY

The office that day

Everything else NWS New York, NY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 8:17 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXOrange38 min
May 31, 8:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXPutnam57 min
May 31, 8:47 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXOrange58 min
May 31, 9:05 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXWestchester65 min
May 31, 9:56 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXOrange, Putnam59 min
May 31, 10:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXWestchester60 min
May 31, 10:37 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningOKXOrange118 min
May 31, 10:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXRockland48 min
May 31, 10:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXWestchester48 min
Jun 1, 2:03 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXKings, Queens47 min
Jun 1, 2:33 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXNassau, Suffolk47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New York, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.