Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Charleston, WV

June 16, 1998Calhoun County, Wirt County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this tornado warning at Jun 16, 1998, 3:20 PM EDT for Calhoun County, Wirt County, West Virginia. It was in force for 35 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 16, 1998, 3:20 PM EDT (19:20 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 1998, 3:55 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Calhoun County, WV, Wirt County, WV

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 16, 3:30 PM EDTHail 1.25Creston, WVGardens and trees were stripped around Creston and along Petes Run.
Jun 16, 3:45 PM EDTThunderstorm WindIndustry, WVSeveral locations had trees knocked down. No dwellings were affected. A survey found no evidence of a tornado.

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 16, 12:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 191 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 419 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 53 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
419 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
542 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

180 
WFUS1 KCRW 161918 RRA
TORCRW
WVC013-105-161955-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
320 PM EDT TUE JUN 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA.
  EASTERN WIRT COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN WEST VIRGINIA.

* UNTIL 355 PM EDT.

* AT 318 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRANTSVILLE OR IN THE VICINITY OF
  MUNDAY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR

PLEASE REPORT ANY TORNADOES...FUNNEL CLOUDS...HAIL OR STRONG WINDS
BY CALLING TOLL FREE AT 877-633-6772.

.END/RPY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 15, 8:47 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph2 hr
Jun 16, 1:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRaleigh, Wyoming35 min
Jun 16, 1:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWayne48 min
Jun 16, 2:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLogan, Mingo46 min
Jun 16, 2:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCabell49 min
Jun 16, 2:11 PM EDTTornado WarningRLXWayne19 min
Jun 16, 2:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLincoln51 min
Jun 16, 2:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRaleigh33 min
Jun 16, 2:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMason50 min
Jun 16, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXNicholas50 min
Jun 16, 2:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWyoming52 min
Jun 16, 2:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXPutnam20 min
Jun 16, 2:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXKanawha64 min
Jun 16, 2:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXClay52 min
Jun 16, 2:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXFayette64 min
Jun 16, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRaleigh65 min
Jun 16, 2:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson66 min
Jun 16, 2:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMcDowell51 min
Jun 16, 3:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBraxton63 min
Jun 16, 3:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRoane, Wirt48 min
Jun 16, 3:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXDoddridge, Ritchie66 min
Jun 16, 3:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCalhoun48 min
Jun 16, 3:36 PM EDTTornado WarningRLXDoddridge34 min
Jun 16, 3:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLewis65 min
Jun 16, 3:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXHarrison66 min
Jun 16, 3:54 PM EDTTornado WarningRLXHarrison36 min
Jun 16, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXGilmer36 min
Jun 16, 4:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXTaylor63 min
Jun 16, 5:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXClay, Nicholas49 min
Jun 16, 5:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXFayette, Kanawha36 min
Jun 16, 5:40 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXKanawha2 hr
Jun 16, 6:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWebster48 min
Jun 16, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXNicholas48 min
Jun 16, 6:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXPocahontas48 min
Jun 16, 6:48 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 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.