Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 221
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 15, 1998, 11:00 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 15, 1998, 11:00 PM CDT (04:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 1998, 4:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 38 counties
Alexander County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Massac County, IL, Monroe County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Gibson County, IN, Posey County, IN, Ballard County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Graves County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Livingston County, KY, McCracken County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Butler County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Madison County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Perry County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Wayne County, MO
The radar
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:59 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
14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 11:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Gibson | 27 min |
| Apr 15, 11:10 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Franklin | 50 min |
| Apr 15, 11:15 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Edwards, Wabash, White | 4 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:15 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Hamilton | 4 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:30 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Perry | 3 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:30 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Bollinger, Perry | 3 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:31 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Gibson | 3 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:46 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Jackson | 3 hr |
| Apr 15, 11:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Union | 40 min |
| Apr 15, 11:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Cape Girardeau | 35 min |
| Apr 16, 12:17 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Cape Girardeau | 3 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:30 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Posey, Vanderburgh | 3 hr |
| Apr 16, 1:14 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Franklin, Williamson | 4 hr |
| Apr 16, 2:55 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh | 3 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 272 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1219 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 868 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 100 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 2.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
288 WWUS9 KMKC 160320 SEL1 MKC WW 160320 ILZ000-MOZ000-KYZ000-160900- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 221 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1020 PM CDT WED APR 15 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI EXTREME WESTERN KENTUCKY EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 1100 PM UNTIL 400 AM CDT. 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 35 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF POPLAR BLUFF MISSOURI TO MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS. 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 216...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 218. WATCH NUMBER 216...218 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1100 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 217...WW 219...WW 2Y... DISCUSSION...LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTHERN ILLINOIS INTO SOUTHEAST MISSOURI IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING EASTWARD DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AS NOSE OF STRONG MID/UPPER LEVEL JET PROGRESSES TOWARD THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. VAD DATA INDICATE THAT LOW LEVEL JET HAS STRENGTHENED WITH 50-60 KT SOUTHERLY WINDS NOW EVIDENT. WINDS VEER WITH HEIGHT CREATING LARGE SHEAR AND HELICITY SUPPORTIVE OF CONTINUED TORNADIC SUPERCELL THREAT. 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 24050. ...WEISS 363,0910 381,0900 381,0873 363,0883
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 7:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Madison, Monroe, Saint Clair | 4 hr |
| Apr 15, 8:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Crawford, Lawrence, Wabash | 5 hr |
| Apr 15, 10:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ohio, Switzerland | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 1:45 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bartholomew, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois and 15 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko and 7 more | |
| Apr 16, 1:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bartholomew, Blackford, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn and 33 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 7:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Bell, Boyle, Breathitt, Casey, Clay and 21 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Calloway | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 47 more | 7 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 5 hr |
| Apr 16, 7:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 1998Tornado Watches in Missouri, 1998Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 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.