Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

June 2, 1998Berks County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this tornado warning at Jun 2, 1998, 7:23 PM EDT for Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 62 min. 2 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 2, 1998, 7:23 PM EDT (23:23 UTC)
Expired
Jun 2, 1998, 8:25 PM EDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

County Berks County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 2, 7:33 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50Frystown, PA
Jun 2, 7:50 PM EDTHail 0.88Strausstown, PA

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 2, 5:15 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 106 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1998-06-02Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1998-06-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 91 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1987 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 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.

773 
WFUS1 KPHL 022325 RRA
TORPHL
PAC011-030025-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
723 PM EDT TUE JUN 2 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BERKS COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 825 PM EDT

* AT 720 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND
  SPOTTER REPORTS INDICATED A TORNADO IN THE VICINITY OF READING
  MUNICIPAL AIRPORT MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  LAURELDALE AT 718 PM EDT
  READING AT 721 PM EDT
  ST LAWRENCE AT 728 PM EDT
  OLEY   AT 733 PM EDT

ANOTHER STORM IS FOLLOWING IN THE PATH OF THE FIRST.  AT 720 PM...
THE SECOND STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR GRIMES AIRPORT IN BETHEL TOWNSHIP
AND IT IS HEADING EAST TOWARD STRAUSSTOWN AND BERNVILLE.

DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN THIS TORNADO WITH YOUR CAR OR OTHER VEHICLE.
ABANDON CARS OR MOBILE HOMES FOR SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...GET IN A CULVERT OR DITCH AND COVER
YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IN A HOME OR BUSINESS...SEEK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT...OR AN
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

GIGI/IOVINO


&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 2, 6:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBerks62 min
Jun 2, 6:25 PM EDTTornado WarningPHIBerks60 min
Jun 2, 7:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIMontgomery46 min

Nearby

Tornado 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.