Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 22

February 2, 199825 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 2, 1998, 8:00 PM EST for 25 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 2, 1998, 8:00 PM EST (01:00 UTC)
Expired
Feb 3, 1998, 2:00 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties

Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lee County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL, Sumter County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:04 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 2, 8:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLBroward63 min
Feb 2, 8:29 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLBroward, Miami-Dade61 min
Feb 2, 8:31 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLMonroe59 min
Feb 2, 8:37 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWHillsborough, Pasco48 min
Feb 2, 8:52 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach63 min
Feb 2, 9:48 PM ESTTornado WarningMLBOkeechobee57 min
Feb 2, 10:18 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLPalm Beach62 min
Feb 2, 10:39 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBMartin, Saint Lucie66 min
Feb 2, 10:52 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMLBIndian River63 min
Feb 2, 11:06 PM ESTTornado WarningMLBSaint Lucie34 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 81 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 62 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 1998-02-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 228 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
62 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
228 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
592 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.

515 
WWUS9 KMKC 030022
SEL2  
MKC WW 030022
FLZ000-030700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 22
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
722 PM EST MON FEB 2 1998

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

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 800 PM UNTIL
200 AM EST.

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES.  ALSO...LARGE 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 110 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF SAINT PETERSBURG
FLORIDA TO 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF MIAMI 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 21.  WATCH NUMBER 21 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 800 PM EST.

DISCUSSION...HIGHLY FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILES REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS
FL PENINSULA AS AREA OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ONSHORE.  WITH
SURFACE LOW REMAINING JUST OFFSHORE W FL...VERY STRONG WINDS AT ALL
LEVELS WILL MAINTAIN SUPERCELL AND TORNADO THREAT AS STORMS ACROSS
PENINSULA NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.


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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...HALES

291,0824 273,0800 242,0800 260,0824

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.