Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 199

April 9, 199817 counties in Florida; 36 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Jasper County, South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 9, 1998, 7:00 AM EDT for 17 counties in Florida; 36 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Jasper County, South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 9, 1998, 7:00 AM EDT (11:00 UTC)
Expired: Apr 9, 1998, 1:00 PM EDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 55 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Union County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Camden County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Evans County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Jasper County, SC

The radar

The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:01 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 9, 7:33 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Duval, Nassau	77 min
Apr 9, 8:06 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	JAX	Duval	64 min

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 66 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 14 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -181 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

880 
WWUS9 KMKC 091019
SEL9  
MKC WW 091019
GAZ000-FLZ000-091700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 199
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
619 AM EDT THU APR 9 1998

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

   SOUTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA                            
   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 700 AM UNTIL 100
PM EDT.

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 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTH OF GAINESVILLE FLORIDA TO 45 MILES
NORTHWEST OF SAVANNAH GEORGIA.

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 196...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 197.  WATCH NUMBER 196...197 WILL
NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 700 AM EDT.  CONTINUE...WW 198...

DISCUSSION...NUMEROUS STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EAST-
NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN FLORIDA AND CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST
GEORGIA.  STORMS ARE EMBEDDED WITHIN A STRONGLY SHEARED WIND
ENVIRONMENT WHICH WILL REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS
THIS MORNING.  VAD PROFILES SHOW VERY STRONG LOW/MID LEVEL WINDS
WITH HELICITY VALUES OF 250-500 M2/S2.  LARGE SURFACE PRESSURE
FALLS CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA WHICH WILL ENHANCE SEVERE POTENTIAL.


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 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25050.


...WEISS

292,0834 323,0831 323,0801 292,0805

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 9, 2:30 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gadsden and 11 more	5 hr
Apr 8, 8:30 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Chattooga, Dade, Walker	7 hr
Apr 9, 1:15 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Burke and 78 more	6 hr
Apr 9, 4:00 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Screven	6 hr
Apr 8, 10:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston and 19 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1998 Tornado Watches in Florida, 1998 Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 1998 Every 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.