Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 110

March 19, 19985 counties in Arkansas; Choctaw County, McCurtain County, Oklahoma; 28 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 19, 1998, 1:15 AM CST for 5 counties in Arkansas; Choctaw County, McCurtain County, Oklahoma; 28 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 19, 1998, 1:15 AM CST (07:15 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 1998, 7:00 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 35 counties

Hempstead County, AR, Howard County, AR, Little River County, AR, Pike County, AR, Sevier County, AR, Choctaw County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, Anderson County, TX, Bowie County, TX, Camp County, TX, Cass County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Delta County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Franklin County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hill County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Marion County, TX, Morris County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Rains County, TX, Red River County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, Smith County, TX, Titus County, TX, Upshur County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Wood County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:18 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 2:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFreestone, Limestone55 min

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 142 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1998-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 176 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1998-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 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
176 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2376 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

813 
WWUS9 KMKC 190643
SEL0  
MKC WW 190643
TXZ000-OKZ000-ARZ000-191300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 110
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1243 AM CST THU MAR 19 1998

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

   EASTERN TEXAS                              
   SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA                           
   SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS                           

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING FROM 115 AM UNTIL 700 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES EAST OF WACO TEXAS TO 65 MILES NORTH
NORTHWEST OF TEXARKANA ARKANSAS.

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 SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 109.  WATCH NUMBER 109 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 115 AM CST.

DISCUSSION...RAPID INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORM ALONG FRONT N TX IN
RESPONSE TO APPROACH  OF STRONG UPPER TROF AND INCREASING LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY.  WIND PROFILES WITH APPROACH OF 80KT MID
LEVEL JET MAX AND 50 KT SLY LLJ ARE NOW FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT
OF SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.


...HALES

313,0972 341,0953 341,0931 313,0950

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 18, 9:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Coal, Comanche and 11 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 1998Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1998Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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.