Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 8:37 PM EDT for Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 33 min. 5 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
- May 31, 1998, 8:37 PM EDT (00:37 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 1998, 9:10 PM EDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
- Area
- Whole counties
County Berks County, PA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 8:40 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Centerport, PA | |
| May 31, 8:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Leesport, PA | |
| May 31, 9:00 PM EDT | Tornado F3 | Evansville, PA | |
| May 31, 9:10 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Moselem Spgs, PA | |
| May 31, 9:20 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Kutztown, 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 5:00 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 206 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
- 3110 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -29 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1063 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 203 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 277 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.0
- Supercell composite
- 18.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
822 WFUS1 KPHL 010038 RRA TORPHL PAC011-010110- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 837 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHERN BERKS COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA * UNTIL 910 PM EDT * AT 836 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 4 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF CENTERPORT MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... ALBANY AT 840 PM EDT KUTZTOWN AT 844 PM EDT LYONS AT 844 PM EDT 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. KRAUS/DELISI
The office that day
Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 8:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Berks | 64 min |
| May 31, 9:07 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PHI | Berks, Lehigh | 48 min |
| May 31, 9:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Berks | 46 min |
| May 31, 9:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PHI | Berks, Chester | 36 min |
| May 31, 9:43 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PHI | Bucks | 32 min |
| May 31, 10:01 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PHI | Monroe | 34 min |
| May 31, 10:21 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Bucks, Montgomery | 49 min |
| May 31, 11:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Northampton | 34 min |
| Jun 1, 12:17 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Berks | 48 min |
| Jun 1, 12:40 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Chester | 50 min |
| Jun 1, 12:54 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Bucks | 31 min |
| Jun 1, 1:00 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Delaware | 50 min |
| Jun 1, 1:15 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Philadelphia | 35 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.