Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 19

January 23, 199818 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 23, 1998, 9:15 AM EST for 18 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 23, 1998, 9:15 AM EST (14:15 UTC)
Expired
Jan 23, 1998, 3:00 PM 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, Manatee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:15 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 23, 9:23 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWDeSoto, Hardee47 min
Jan 23, 9:38 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWHighlands47 min
Jan 23, 10:28 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBIndian River47 min
Jan 23, 10:33 AM ESTTornado WarningTBWHardee, Highlands47 min
Jan 23, 11:20 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard60 min
Jan 23, 12:54 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBBrevard21 min
Jan 23, 1:44 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningMLBBrevard4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 164 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-01-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1021 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, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-01-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 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
1021 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
621 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

560 
WWUS9 KMKC 231400
SEL9  
MKC WW 231400
FLZ000-232000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 19
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
900 AM EST FRI JAN 23 1998

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

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 915 AM UNTIL 300
PM EST.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FORT MEYERS FLORIDA TO 35
MILES EAST OF VERO BEACH 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.


DISCUSSION...SHEAR PROFILES SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT CONTINUED SMALL
SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS AS AIRMASS IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE. STORMS
SHOULD CONTINUE DEVELOPING EWD ACROSS PENINSULA.



AVIATION...TORNADOES AND 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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23030.


...HALES

272,0823 283,0802 264,0791 253,0812

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.