Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 239
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 16, 1998, 11:00 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 16, 1998, 11:00 PM EDT (03:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 17, 1998, 5:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 78 counties
Alexander County, NC, Alleghany County, NC, Ashe County, NC, Avery County, NC, Buncombe County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Cherokee County, NC, Clay County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Graham County, NC, Haywood County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Jackson County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Macon County, NC, Madison County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Polk County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Surry County, NC, Swain County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Yancey County, NC, Cherokee County, SC, Anderson County, TN, Bledsoe County, TN, Blount County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Carter County, TN, Claiborne County, TN, Cocke County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Grainger County, TN, Greene County, TN, Hamblen County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Hancock County, TN, Hawkins County, TN, Jefferson County, TN, Johnson County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Marion County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Meigs County, TN, Monroe County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Polk County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Roane County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sequatchie County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Sullivan County, TN, Unicoi County, TN, Union County, TN, Washington County, TN, City of Bristol, VA, Henry County, VA
Warnings issued inside it
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 11:20 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | MRX | Anderson, Roane | 5 hr |
| Apr 16, 11:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Meigs, Rhea | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 11:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Bradley | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 11:36 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MRX | Bradley | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 11:41 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MRX | McMinn | 49 min |
| Apr 16, 11:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Loudon, Monroe, Roane | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 11:54 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MRX | Blount, Loudon | 46 min |
| Apr 17, 12:10 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | MRX | Loudon | 3 hr |
| Apr 17, 12:17 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Polk | 63 min |
| Apr 17, 12:35 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | MRX | Knox | 3 hr |
| Apr 17, 2:33 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Caldwell | 4 hr |
| Apr 17, 4:02 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Stokes | 48 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 280 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
- 1217 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 573 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 280 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 368 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.0
- Supercell composite
- 10.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
328 WWUS9 KMKC 170228 SEL9 MKC WW 170228 TNZ000-NCZ000-170900- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 239 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1028 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN TENNESSEE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 1100 PM UNTIL 500 AM 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 150 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA TO 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF BRISTOL TENNESSEE. 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 232. WATCH NUMBER 232 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1100 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 234...WW 235...WW 237...WW 238... DISCUSSION...STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST TENNESSEE ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD EASTWARD TONIGHT AHEAD OF ADVANCING COLD FRONT. OTHER STORMS MAY DEVELOP NEAR EAST/WEST BOUNDARY EXTENDING INTO WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. VAD WIND PROFILES CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG WINDS THAT VEER WITH HEIGHT...RESULTING IN FAVORABLE SHEAR FOR POSSIBLE SUPERCELL ACTIVITY. 00Z RUC2 MODEL ALSO FORECASTS 60 KT 850 MB JET ACROSS THIS REGION TONIGHT WHICH WILL MAINTAIN STRONG SHEAR AND HELICITY. 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 420. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23050. ...WEISS 350,0854 363,0845 363,0792 350,0802
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1:30 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Union | 6 hr |
| Apr 17, 8:00 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Robeson | 6 hr |
| Apr 17, 7:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Bertie, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Edgecombe and 23 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 16, 8:00 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Wise and 1 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 17, 3:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Arlington, Caroline, Culpeper, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier and 15 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 1998Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 1998Tornado Watches in Virginia, 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.