Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 101

March 9, 199820 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 9, 1998, 1:00 AM EST for 20 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 9, 1998, 1:00 AM EST (06:00 UTC)
Expired
Mar 9, 1998, 7:00 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Brevard County, FL, Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:01 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.

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 9, 1:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWHighlands, Polk46 min
Mar 9, 1:29 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWCharlotte, Sarasota46 min
Mar 9, 1:32 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBOsceola48 min
Mar 9, 1:32 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWPolk33 min
Mar 9, 1:34 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWHighlands36 min
Mar 9, 2:07 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBBrevard63 min
Mar 9, 2:41 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier59 min
Mar 9, 3:22 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier, Glades, Hendry63 min
Mar 9, 3:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBOkeechobee31 min
Mar 9, 3:40 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBSaint Lucie50 min
Mar 9, 4:09 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach31 min
Mar 9, 4:21 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLCollier34 min
Mar 9, 4:41 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach64 min
Mar 9, 5:33 AM ESTTornado WarningMFLBroward32 min
Mar 9, 5:54 AM ESTTornado WarningMFLMiami-Dade21 min
Mar 9, 6:06 AM ESTTornado WarningMFLBroward29 min
Mar 9, 6:18 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMiami-Dade62 min

The nearest sounding before it

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 124 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, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1605 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 169 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1605 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
557 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
7.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

569 
WWUS9 KMKC 090540
SEL1  
MKC WW 090540
FLZ000-091200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 101
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1240 AM EST MON MAR 9 1998

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 100 AM UNTIL 700 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 80 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI FLORIDA TO 25 MILES EAST
NORTHEAST OF ORLANDO FLORIDA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 100.  WATCH NUMBER 100 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 100 AM
EST.

DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WATCH AREA WHERE
AIR MASS RATHER UNSTABLE PER 1500 TO 2500 J/KG CAPES. 50 KT LOW
LEVEL INFLOW WILL ENHANCE SHEAR AND RESULT IN POTENTIAL FOR
DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS AND A FEW TORNADOES. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26030.


...ROGASH

245,0822 283,0820 283,0794 245,0795

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 8, 8:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 21 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 1998Every tornado 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.