Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 24, 1998Marshall County, West Virginia

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1998, 6:06 PM EDT for Marshall County, West Virginia. It was in force for 24 min. 7 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 1998, 6:06 PM EDT (22:06 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1998, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Marshall County, WV

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:08 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 24, 6:15 PM EDTHail 1.5Moundsville, WVHail, between 0.88 and 1.50 inches in diameter fell in Moundsville. Some damage to cars was reported.
May 24, 6:15 PM EDTHail 0.75Moundsville, WV
May 24, 6:18 PM EDTThunderstorm WindMoundsville, WVNumerous trees and large limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds.
May 24, 6:18 PM EDTHail 1.75Moundsville, WV
May 24, 6:18 PM EDTThunderstorm WindMoundsville, WV
May 24, 6:30 PM EDTHail 1.5Cameron, WV
May 24, 6:30 PM EDTThunderstorm WindCameron, WV

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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 73 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1932 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
115 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.

777 
WFUS1 KPIT 242207 RRA
TORPIT
WVC051-242230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
606 PM EDT SUN MAY 24 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

   * TORNADO WARNING FOR...
     MARSHALL COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
     INCLUDING MOUNDSVILLE

   * UNTIL 630 PM EDT

   * AT 603 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
     THUNDERSTORM WITH A TORNADO OVER MOUNDSVILLE...MOVING
     EAST AT 30 MILES PER HOUR.

   * TORNADO WILL BE...
     6 MILES NORTH OF CAMERON AT 615 PM EDT
     8 MILES EAST OF CAMERON AT 635 PM EDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR OHIO. AND WEST
VIRGINIA. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM EDT FOR
OHIO. AND WEST VIRGINIA.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FOR
OHIO. AND WEST VIRGINIA.

LAT...LON 4001 8070 3986 8079 3980 8057 3990 8053

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 5:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMarshall38 min
May 24, 6:27 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZMarshall33 min
May 24, 6:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMonongalia38 min
May 24, 7:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMarion45 min
May 24, 7:22 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZMonongalia38 min
May 24, 7:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZTucker66 min
May 24, 7:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZPreston63 min
May 24, 7:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMonongalia33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 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.