Alert archive / Oregon / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Portland, OR

October 3, 1998Clackamas County, Oregon

NWS Portland, OR issued this tornado warning at Oct 3, 1998, 4:54 PM PDT for Clackamas County, Oregon. It was in force for 61 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 3, 1998, 4:54 PM PDT (23:54 UTC)
Expired
Oct 3, 1998, 5:55 PM PDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Portland, OR
Area
Whole counties

County Clackamas County, OR

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:54 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 68 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 1998-10-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 96 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 1998-10-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 123 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
96 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
508 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
123 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.

921 
WFUS1 KPDX 032356 RRA
TORPDX
ORC005-040055-

BULLETIN-IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
454 PM PDT SAT OCT 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN CLACKAMAS COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN OREGON

* UNTIL 555 PM PDT

* AT 445 PM PDT... AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR
  BARLOW ALONG HIGHWAY 99E AND BARLOW ROAD... MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
MULINO BETWEEN 5 AND 515 PM PDT

IF YOU ARE IN A CAR...GO IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING AS A LAST
RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

TOLLESON


&

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, Oct 3, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
ORZALL-040600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 PM PDT SAT OCT 3 1998

...ACCUMULATING SNOW LIKELY HIGHER ELEVATIONS NORTH OREGON CASCADES
EARLY TONIGHT...
...POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT HIGHER MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST
OREGON...

A COLD PACIFIC TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON TONIGHT. SHOWERS OVER
NORTHWEST OREGON WILL TAPER OFF LATER TONIGHT. SHOWERS IN THE NORTH
CASCADES MAY DROP AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE 5000 FEET WITH
A DUSTING AS LOW AS 4000 FEET BY MORNING.

IN NORTHEAST OREGON...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE EARLY TONIGHT ESPECIALLY
MOUNTAINS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY MORNING WITH THE SNOW
LEVEL LOWERING TO 4500 FEET. SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE
ABOVE 4500 FEET TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

STARMER
Special weather statement, Oct 3, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
ORZALL-040600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 PM PDT SAT OCT 3 1998

...ACCUMULATING SNOW LIKELY HIGHER ELEVATIONS NORTH OREGON CASCADES
EARLY TONIGHT...
...POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT HIGHER MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST
OREGON...

A COLD PACIFIC TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON TONIGHT. SHOWERS OVER
NORTHWEST OREGON WILL TAPER OFF LATER TONIGHT. SHOWERS IN THE NORTH
CASCADES MAY DROP AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET WITH A
DUSTING AS LOW AS 4000 FEET BY MORNING.

IN NORTHEAST OREGON...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE EARLY TONIGHT ESPECIALLY
MOUNTAINS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY MORNING WITH THE SNOW
LEVEL LOWERING TO 4500 FEET. SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONf IS POSSIBLE
ABOVE 4500 FEET TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

STARMER
Special weather statement, Oct 3, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
ORZALL-040600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 PM PDT SAT OCT 3 1998

...ACCUMULATING SNOW LIKELY HIGHER ELEVATIONS NORTH OREGON CASCADES
EARLY TONIGHT...
...POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT HIGHER MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST
OREGON...

A COLD PACIFIC TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON TONIGHT. SHOWERS OVER
NORTHWEST OREGON WILL TAPER OFF LATER TONIGHT. SHOWERS IN THE NORTH
CASCADES MAY DROP AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET WITH A
DUSTING AS LOW AS 4000 FEET BY MORNING.

IN NORTHEAST OREGON...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE EARLY TONIGHT ESPECIALLY
MOUNTAINS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY MORNING WITH THE SNOW
LEVEL LOWERING TO 4500 FEET. SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONf IS POSSIBLE
ABOVE 4500 FEET TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

STARMER
Special weather statement, Oct 3, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
ORZALL-040600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 PM PDT SAT OCT 3 1998

...ACCUMULATING SNOW LIKELY HIGHER ELEVATIONS NORTH OREGON CASCADES
EARLY TONIGHT...
...POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT HIGHER MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST
OREGON...

A COLD PACIFIC TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON TONIGHT. SHOWERS OVER
NORTHWEST OREGON WILL TAPER OFF LATER TONIGHT. SHOWERS IN THE NORTH
CASCADES MAY DROP AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE 5000 FEET WITH
A DUSTING AS LOW AS 4000 FEET BY MORNING.

IN NORTHEAST OREGON...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE EARLY TONIGHT ESPECIALLY
MOUNTAINS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY MORNING WITH THE SNOW
LEVEL LOWERING TO 4500 FEET. SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE
ABOVE 4500 FEET TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

STARMER
Local storm report, Oct 3, 4:45 PM PDT, 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
445 PM PDT SAT OCT 03 1998

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0439 PM    SILVERTON                 OR
10/03/98   MARION                         AT 4PM MARION 8 REPORTED
                                          ROTATING FUNNEL NOW
                                          DISSIPATED. THUNDER IN
                                          PROGRESS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Portland, OR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 3, 4:13 PM PDTTornado WarningPQRClackamas, Marion62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oregon, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.