Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 821

September 7, 19985 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Sep 7, 1998, 6:00 PM EDT for 5 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 7, 1998, 6:00 PM EDT (22:00 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 1998, 12:00 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 60 counties

Floyd County, KY, Johnson County, KY, Martin County, KY, Pike County, KY, Allegany County, MD, Garrett County, MD, Washington County, OH, Alleghany County, VA, Bath County, VA, City of Covington, VA, Craig County, VA, Highland County, VA, Barbour County, WV, Boone County, WV, Braxton County, WV, Cabell County, WV, Calhoun County, WV, Clay County, WV, Doddridge County, WV, Fayette County, WV, Gilmer County, WV, Grant County, WV, Greenbrier County, WV, Hampshire County, WV, Hardy County, WV, Harrison County, WV, Jackson County, WV, Kanawha County, WV, Lewis County, WV, Lincoln County, WV, Logan County, WV, Marion County, WV, Mason County, WV, McDowell County, WV, Mercer County, WV, Mineral County, WV, Mingo County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Monroe County, WV, Nicholas County, WV, Pendleton County, WV, Pleasants County, WV, Pocahontas County, WV, Preston County, WV, Putnam County, WV, Raleigh County, WV, Randolph County, WV, Ritchie County, WV, Roane County, WV, Summers County, WV, Taylor County, WV, Tucker County, WV, Tyler County, WV, Upshur County, WV, Wayne County, WV, Webster County, WV, Wetzel County, WV, Wirt County, WV, Wood County, WV, Wyoming County, WV

Warnings issued inside it

7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 7, 6:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBarbour, Harrison, Taylor46 min
Sep 7, 6:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZTucker52 min
Sep 7, 7:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMason, Putnam33 min
Sep 7, 7:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGarrett45 min
Sep 7, 7:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXKanawha32 min
Sep 7, 8:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXNicholas31 min
Sep 7, 8:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKGreenbrier48 min

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 196 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-09-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-09-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -80 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-164 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1696 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-37 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.

837 
WWUS9 KMKC 072139
SEL1  
MKC WW 072139
WVZ000-MDZ000-080400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 821
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
539 PM EDT MON SEP 7 1998

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   WEST VIRGINIA                      
   THE WESTERN PANHANDLE OF MARYLAND                           

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 600 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT EDT.

HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BECKLEY WEST
VIRGINIA TO 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MORGANTOWN WEST VIRGINIA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 820...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AHEAD OF COLD
FRONT AND APPROACHING UPSTREAM VORTICITY AXIS AS AIR MASS SHOWING
MODERATE INSTABILITY. MID LEVEL FLOW WILL INCREASE TO NEAR 60 KT
WITH ASSOCIATED WIND SHEAR SUPPORTING DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS. 

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 28045.


...ROGASH

372,0831 394,0812 394,0781 372,0800

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 7, 5:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAshland, Ashtabula, Columbiana, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie and 17 more5 hr
Sep 7, 8:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBrooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio6 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in West Virginia, 1998Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 1998Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kentucky, 1998Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.