Alert archive / New Jersey / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

May 31, 1998Sussex County, New Jersey

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 8:42 PM EDT for Sussex County, New Jersey. It was in force for 33 min. 1 report 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, 8:42 PM EDT (00:42 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 1998, 9:15 PM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area: Whole counties

County Sussex County, NJ

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 31, 8:47 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Bevans, NJ

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

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 156 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -348 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1224 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 319 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.

000 
TTAA00 KPHL 010044
TORPHL
NJC037-010115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
842 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME NORTHERN SUSSEX COUNTY IN NEW JERSEY

* UNTIL 915 PM EDT

* AT 841 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO IN THE VICINITY OF MONTAGUE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO MAY AFFECT MONTAGUE...MILLVILLE...AND HIGH POINT
  STATE PARK.  THIS IS THE SECOND STORM TO AFFECT THESE AREAS
  THIS EVENING. AN EARLIER STORM PRODUCED A TORNADO IN MONTAGUE.

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, 10:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Sussex	19 min
May 31, 11:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Warren	34 min
May 31, 11:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Morris	31 min
Jun 1, 1:10 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Mercer, Middlesex	50 min
Jun 1, 1:15 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Gloucester, Salem	35 min
Jun 1, 1:15 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Camden	35 min
Jun 1, 1:26 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Cumberland	49 min
Jun 1, 1:30 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Atlantic, Burlington	65 min
Jun 1, 1:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Monmouth, Ocean	63 min
Jun 1, 1:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Middlesex	63 min
Jun 1, 1:42 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Cape May	48 min
Jun 1, 1:44 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Mercer	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New Jersey, 1998 Every tornado warning in 1998 Tornadoes 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.