Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 42, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Jun 28, 1998, 8:40 PM EDT for Brooke County, West Virginia; Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 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
- Jun 28, 1998, 8:40 PM EDT (00:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 28, 1998, 9:40 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Washington County, PA, Brooke County, WV
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 8:45 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellsburg, WV | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees. |
| Jun 28, 9:20 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Centerville, PA | Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree. |
| Jun 28, 9:37 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Fredericktown, PA | Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 33 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
- 2035 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 656 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 154 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 231 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
354 WFUS1 KPIT 290040 RRA TORPIT PAC125-WVC009-290140- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 840 PM EDT SUN JUN 28 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. BROOKE COUNTY IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. * UNTIL 940 PM EDT. * AT 840 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR THE TOWN OF...NEAR WELLSBURG...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... WELLSBURG AT 850 PM. AVELLA AT 900 PM. <<CALL TO ACTION>>GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR .END/STAIRS/MURHY
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, Jun 28, 5:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>015-020>022- 029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021-022-290300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 520 PM EDT SUN JUN 28 1998 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11 PM... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11 PM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA... ALLEGHENY... ARMSTRONG... BEAVER... BUTLER... CLARION... FAYETTE... FOREST... GREENE... LAWRENCE... MERCER... VENANGO... WASHINGTON AND WESTMORELAND. IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA... BROOKE... HANCOCK... OHIO... MARION... MARSHALL... MONONGALIA AND WETZEL. IN EAST CENTRAL OHIO... BELMONT... CARROL... COLUMBIANA... COSHOCTON... GUERNSEY... HARRISON... JEFFERSON... MONROE... MUSKINGUM... NOBLE AND TUSCARAWAS. IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA THE FOLLOWING MAY OCCUR... WINDS GUSTS TO 80 MPH... HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER... FREQUENT LIGHTNING... AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS BEGINNING TO FORM ACROSS NORTHWEST AND NORTHCENTRAL OHIO. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST AND ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT EAST CENTRAL OHIO... WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA...AND NORTHERN SECTIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. STRAGER
Special weather statement, Jun 28, 5:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>015-020>022- 029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021-022-290300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 520 PM EDT SUN JUN 28 1998 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11 PM... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11 PM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA... ALLEGHENY... ARMSTRONG... BEAVER... BUTLER... CLARION... FAYETTE... FOREST... GREENE... LAWRENCE... MERCER... VENANGO... WASHINGTON AND WESTMORELAND. IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA... BROOKE... HANCOCK... OHIO... MARION... MARSHALL... MONONGALIA AND WETZEL. IN EAST CENTRAL OHIO... BELMONT... CARROL... COLUMBIANA... COSHOCTON... GUERNSEY... HARRISON... JEFFERSON... MONROE... MUSKINGUM... NOBLE AND TUSCARAWAS. IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA THE FOLLOWING MAY OCCUR... WINDS GUSTS TO 80 MPH... HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER... FREQUENT LIGHTNING... AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS BEGINNING TO FORM ACROSS NORTHWEST AND NORTHCENTRAL OHIO. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST AND ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT EAST CENTRAL OHIO... WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA...AND NORTHERN SECTIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. STRAGER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 8:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Brooke, Ohio | 41 min |
| Jun 28, 8:49 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Brooke, Ohio | 4 hr |
| Jun 28, 9:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Monongalia | 70 min |
| Jun 28, 9:25 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Marshall, Wetzel | 4 hr |
| Jun 28, 9:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Preston | 62 min |
| Jun 28, 10:23 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Marion | 6 hr |
| Jun 28, 10:23 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Preston | 6 hr |
| Jun 28, 10:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Tucker | 59 min |
| Jun 28, 10:38 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Tucker | 5 hr |
| Jun 29, 8:26 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Marshall | 3 hr |
| Jun 29, 1:09 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Wetzel | 5 hr |
| Jun 28, 8:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Washington | 74 min |
| Jun 28, 9:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Fayette | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 1998Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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.