Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 68, NWS Charleston, WV

May 24, 1998Boyd County, Kentucky; Lawrence County, Ohio

NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1998, 6:34 PM EDT for Boyd County, Kentucky; Lawrence County, Ohio. It was in force for 41 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 24, 1998, 6:34 PM EDT (22:34 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1998, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Boyd County, KY, Lawrence County, OH

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:36 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 24, 6:38 PM EDTHail 1Ironton, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 24, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 147 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1998-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1998-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-197 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
638 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
117 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

979 
WUUS1 KCRW 242236 RRA
SVRCRW
KYC019-OHC087-242315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
634 PM EDT SUN MAY 24 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST KENTUCKY
 
   ...NORTHERN BOYD COUNTY.
 
 
IN SOUTHEAST OHIO
 
   ...SOUTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY.
 
AT 633 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
OVER OHIO RIVER NEAR IRONTON OHIO. THIS STORM WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK
EAST SOUTHEAST...ALONG THE OHIO RIVER...AT ABOUT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
<< CALL TO ACTION >> SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND
IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND
VERY HEAVY RAIN.FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS
QUICKLY SO DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 24, 6:15 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA
615 PM EDT SUN MAY 24 1998

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

0600 AM    BIG ROCK                  VA   WIND DAMAGE
05/24/98   BUCHANAN                       TREE BLOWN DOWN ON MOBLE
                                          HOME.

0800 AM    PAYNESVILLE               WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   MCDOWELL                       DIME SIZE HAIL.

0400 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.

0405 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   2 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        2 INCH SIZE ICE CUBES.

0405 PM    KEHOE                     KY   1 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        QUARTER SIZE HAIL.  FUNNEL
                                          CLOUD PASSED OVER HOUSE
                                          AND WINDSHIELD BROKE FROM
                                          HAIL. NUMEROUS TREES
                                          DAMAGED OR DOWN.

0430 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   TORNADO
05/24/98   GREENUP                        TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON
                                          RIDGE LINE CONFIRMED BY
                                          SEVERAL SPOTTERS. NUMEROUS
                                          TREES UPROOTED AND DOWN.
                                          NO HOMES OR BUILDINGS IN
                                          THE VICINITY OF THE PATH.

0448 PM    ASHLAND                   KY   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   BOYD                           DIME SIZE HAIL.

0449 PM    BARBOURSVILLE             WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   CABELL                         DIME SIZE HAIL.

0513 PM    GREENUP                   KY   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        DIME SIZE HAIL.

0520 PM    HURRICANE                 WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   PUTNAM                         DIME SIZE HAIL.

0548 PM    PEDRO                     OH   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   LAWRENCE                       PING PONG SIZE HAIL.
Local storm report, May 24, 6:15 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA
615 PM EDT SUN MAY 24 1998

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

0600 AM    BIG ROCK                  VA   WIND DAMAGE
05/24/98   BUCHANAN                       TREE BLOWN DOWN ON MOBLE
                                          HOME.

0800 AM    PAYNESVILLE               WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   MCDOWELL                       DIME SIZE HAIL.

0400 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.

0405 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   2 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        2 INCH SIZE ICE CUBES.

0405 PM    KEHOE                     KY   1 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        QUARTER SIZE HAIL.  FUNNEL
                                          CLOUD PASSED OVER HOUSE
                                          AND WINDSHIELD BROKE FROM
                                          HAIL. NUMEROUS TREES
                                          DAMAGED OR DOWN.

0430 PM    WARNOCK                   KY   TORNADO
05/24/98   GREENUP                        TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON
                                          RIDGE LINE CONFIRMED BY
                                          SEVERAL SPOTTERS. NUMEROUS
                                          TREES UPROOTED AND DOWN.
                                          NO HOMES OR BUILDINGS IN
                                          THE VICINITY OF THE PATH.

0448 PM    ASHLAND                   KY   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   BOYD                           DIME SIZE HAIL.

0449 PM    BARBOURSVILLE             WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   CABELL                         DIME SIZE HAIL.

0513 PM    GREENUP                   KY   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   GREENUP                        DIME SIZE HAIL.

0520 PM    HURRICANE                 WV   .75 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   PUTNAM                         DIME SIZE HAIL.

0548 PM    PEDRO                     OH   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/24/98   LAWRENCE                       PING PONG SIZE HAIL.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 3:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXGreenup51 min
May 24, 3:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCarter14 min
May 24, 4:15 PM EDTTornado WarningRLXGreenup30 min
May 24, 4:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBoyd50 min
May 24, 4:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXGreenup52 min
May 24, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXGreenup33 min
May 24, 11:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXGallia36 min
May 24, 11:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson44 min
May 24, 5:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLawrence53 min
May 24, 5:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson32 min
May 24, 7:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWashington50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kentucky, 1998Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Ohio, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.