Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 45, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 25, 1998, 4:06 PM EDT for Muskingum County, Ohio. It was in force for 39 min. 4 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
- Aug 25, 1998, 4:06 PM EDT (20:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 25, 1998, 4:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Muskingum County, OH
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 159 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:08 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 4:30 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Black Run, OH | |
| Aug 25, 4:30 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Zanesville, OH | |
| Aug 25, 4:30 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Central Portion, OH | Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds throughout Falls Township, one onto a car. In South Zanesville a mobile home was knocked off its foundation and a billboard fell onto a car. |
| Aug 25, 4:40 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | New Concord, OH |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 164 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
- 1153 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -102 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 784 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 208 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 195 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
159
WFUS1 KPIT 252011 RRA
TORPIT
OHC119-252045-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
406 PM EDT TUE AUG 25 1998
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
MUSKINGUM COUNTY IN OHIO
INCLUDING ZANESVILLE
* UNTIL 445 PM EDT
* AT 405 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A TORNADO ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHWEST
OF ZANESVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MILES PER HOUR.
* TORNADO WILL BE...
4 MILES NORTH OF ZANESVILLE AT 410 PM EDT
16 MILES EAST OF ZANESVILLE AT 435 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.
KANEWhat 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, Aug 25, 11:38 AM EDT, 4 hours 28 minutes before
OHZ039>041-O48>050-057>059-068-069-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-MDZ001- PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-029>032-251600- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK -UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1138 AM EDT TUE AUG 25 1998 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT... ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS ON TIL 6 PM FOR THE EAST CENTRAL OHIO COUNTIES...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE COUNTIES...AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA... FLASH FLOOD AND HEAVY RAIN THREAT DETAILS... EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA REMAIN THE COUNTIES TO WATCH FOR FLASH FLOOD DEVELOPMENT. SOILS ARE STILL HEAVILY MOISTURE LADEN AFTER YESTERDAYS RAINS OF UP TO 2 TO 4 INCHES IN SOME COMMUNITIES. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. SO THOSE COUNTIES NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IN THE WATCH AREA ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO FLASH FLOOD DEVELOPMENT. RAIN AMOUNTS IN MANY LOCATIONS WILL EXCEED AN INCH...AND UP TO 3 OR 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. RAIN AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 1.5 INCHES IN AN HOUR OR 3 INCHES IN 3 HOURS CAN CAUSE THE RAPID FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND SMALL STREAMS. SEVERE WEATHER THREAT DETAILS... ANY STORM CAN HAVE WIND GUSTS OF OVER 30 MPH AND QUARTER INCH HAIL. STORMS ON THE SOUTHERN FRINGE OF THE BANDS OF THE STORMS ARE THE ONES WITH THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR HAVING STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HAIL. AREAS NEAR AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 APPEAR TO THE MOST VULNERABLE TO THIS THREAT. WITH THOSE SOUTHERN STORMS...WIND GUSTS MAY EXCEED 60 MPH AND HAIL SIZES CAN EXCEED AN INCH. LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE QUITE FREQUENT WITH THESE STORMS AS IT WAS YESTERDAY. WEATHER SCENARIO... A COLD FRONT FROM MICHIGAN WILL CUT THROUGH THE HUMID AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY AND THUS CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION. AN EAST-WEST BOUNDARY NEAR INTERSTATE 70 HAS DEVELOPED WHICH MAY FOCUS STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN THAT PART OF THE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION. THE ENTIRE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION IS UNSTABLE...SO THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE STRONG. AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 MAY BECOME THE MOST UNSTABLE IF SURFACE TEMPERATURES REACH THE UPPER 80S OR 90. AN EAST-WEST BOUNDARY CLOSE TO INTERSTATE 70 HAS DEVELOPED...SINCE AREAS TO THE NORTH ARE WET AND CLOUDY AND AREAS TO THE SOUTH ARE SUNNY AND WARMING RAPIDLY. THIS MAY BECOME THE REGION WHERE THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS FOCUS. THE THUNDERSTORMS CAN ALSO OCCUR IN SERIES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHICH MEANS REPEATED DOWNPOURS ARE POSSIBLE...WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON FOR MAINTAINING THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH. THE THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT AFTER THE FRONT HAS PASSED THROUGH. SKYWARN ACTIVATION NOTES... SKYWARN OBSERVERS ARE REQUESTED TO CALL WITH ANY RAIN AMOUNTS OF BETTER THAN 1 INCH IN AN HOUR OR TOTALS OF 2.5 INCHES SINCE 7 AM. SKYWARN NETWORKS MAY BE ACTIVATED LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING WITH COUNTIES IN THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 HAVING THE BEST CHANCE. NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND WEBSITE REMINDER... CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES. THE LATEST INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH WEB SITE AT WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/PIT GIORDANO
Special weather statement, Aug 25, 11:38 AM EDT, 4 hours 28 minutes before
OHZ039>041-O48>050-057>059-068-069-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-MDZ001- PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-029>032-251600- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK -UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1138 AM EDT TUE AUG 25 1998 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT... ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS ON TIL 6 PM FOR THE EAST CENTRAL OHIO COUNTIES...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE COUNTIES...AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA... FLASH FLOOD AND HEAVY RAIN THREAT DETAILS... EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA REMAIN THE COUNTIES TO WATCH FOR FLASH FLOOD DEVELOPMENT. SOILS ARE STILL HEAVILY MOISTURE LADEN AFTER YESTERDAYS RAINS OF UP TO 2 TO 4 INCHES IN SOME COMMUNITIES. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. SO THOSE COUNTIES NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IN THE WATCH AREA ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO FLASH FLOOD DEVELOPMENT. RAIN AMOUNTS IN MANY LOCATIONS WILL EXCEED AN INCH...AND UP TO 3 OR 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. RAIN AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 1.5 INCHES IN AN HOUR OR 3 INCHES IN 3 HOURS CAN CAUSE THE RAPID FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND SMALL STREAMS. SEVERE WEATHER THREAT DETAILS... ANY STORM CAN HAVE WIND GUSTS OF OVER 30 MPH AND QUARTER INCH HAIL. STORMS ON THE SOUTHERN FRINGE OF THE BANDS OF THE STORMS ARE THE ONES WITH THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR HAVING STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HAIL. AREAS NEAR AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 APPEAR TO THE MOST VULNERABLE TO THIS THREAT. WITH THOSE SOUTHERN STORMS...WIND GUSTS MAY EXCEED 60 MPH AND HAIL SIZES CAN EXCEED AN INCH. LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE QUITE FREQUENT WITH THESE STORMS AS IT WAS YESTERDAY. WEATHER SCENARIO... A COLD FRONT FROM MICHIGAN WILL CUT THROUGH THE HUMID AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY AND THUS CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION. AN EAST-WEST BOUNDARY NEAR INTERSTATE 70 HAS DEVELOPED WHICH MAY FOCUS STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN THAT PART OF THE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION. THE ENTIRE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION IS UNSTABLE...SO THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE STRONG. AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 MAY BECOME THE MOST UNSTABLE IF SURFACE TEMPERATURES REACH THE UPPER 80S OR 90. AN EAST-WEST BOUNDARY CLOSE TO INTERSTATE 70 HAS DEVELOPED...SINCE AREAS TO THE NORTH ARE WET AND CLOUDY AND AREAS TO THE SOUTH ARE SUNNY AND WARMING RAPIDLY. THIS MAY BECOME THE REGION WHERE THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS FOCUS. THE THUNDERSTORMS CAN ALSO OCCUR IN SERIES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHICH MEANS REPEATED DOWNPOURS ARE POSSIBLE...WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON FOR MAINTAINING THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH. THE THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT AFTER THE FRONT HAS PASSED THROUGH. SKYWARN ACTIVATION NOTES... SKYWARN OBSERVERS ARE REQUESTED TO CALL WITH ANY RAIN AMOUNTS OF BETTER THAN 1 INCH IN AN HOUR OR TOTALS OF 2.5 INCHES SINCE 7 AM. SKYWARN NETWORKS MAY BE ACTIVATED LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING WITH COUNTIES IN THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 HAVING THE BEST CHANCE. NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND WEBSITE REMINDER... CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES. THE LATEST INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH WEB SITE AT WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/PIT GIORDANO
The office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 8:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Tuscarawas | 51 min |
| Aug 25, 6:19 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Tuscarawas | 41 min |
| Aug 25, 1:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Columbiana | 62 min |
| Aug 25, 3:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Muskingum | 61 min |
| Aug 25, 3:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Coshocton | 58 min |
| Aug 25, 4:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Guernsey | 63 min |
| Aug 25, 4:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Muskingum | 55 min |
| Aug 25, 4:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Noble | 66 min |
| Aug 25, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Harrison | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Ohio, 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.