Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 248

April 19, 19984 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 19, 1998, 3:00 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 19, 1998, 3:00 PM EDT (19:00 UTC)
Expired
Apr 19, 1998, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 109 counties

Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Alamance County, NC, Anson County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Gates County, NC, Granville County, NC, Greene County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Orange County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Person County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Union County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, York County, SC, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 19, 3:03 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGaston, Lincoln17 min
Apr 19, 3:21 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPYork34 min
Apr 19, 3:36 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGaston29 min
Apr 19, 3:59 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPYork31 min
Apr 19, 4:05 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPMecklenburg30 min
Apr 19, 4:10 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKRockingham3 hr
Apr 19, 4:13 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPCabarrus, Rowan32 min
Apr 19, 4:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKRockingham49 min
Apr 19, 4:32 PM EDTTornado WarningRNKRockingham33 min
Apr 19, 4:36 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPYork34 min
Apr 19, 4:58 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPUnion47 min
Apr 19, 5:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania, City of Danville63 min
Apr 19, 5:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAlamance22 min
Apr 19, 6:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKCharlotte37 min
Apr 19, 6:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQPrince Edward34 min
Apr 19, 7:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHGranville32 min
Apr 19, 7:36 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHWake34 min
Apr 19, 8:04 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCharles City31 min
Apr 19, 8:09 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQNew Kent21 min
Apr 19, 8:57 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQGloucester, Middlesex18 min

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 121 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1998-04-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1998-04-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 408 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
408 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
462 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.

001 
WWUS9 KMKC 191841
SEL8  
MKC WW 191841
NCZ000-VAZ000-MDZ000-200100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 248
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
241 PM EDT SUN APR 19 1998

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

   CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA                     
   CENTRAL AND EASTERN VIRGINIA                           
   SOUTHERN MARYLAND                           
   SOUTHERN CHESAPEAKE BAY
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS
   

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 300 PM UNTIL 900
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 105 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SOUTHERN PINES NORTH CAROLINA
TO 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF WALLOPS VIRGINIA.

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...WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIR OVER NORTH CAROLINA ADVECTING
NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHERN VIRGINIA WITH CAPES FROM 1500 TO 2500
SPREADING OVER REGION. 70 TO 80 KT MID LEVEL FLOW COMBINED WITH 40
KT LOW LEVEL JET WILL PROVIDE SUFFICIENT SHEAR FOR A FEW TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS AS THUNDERSTORMS INTENSIFY ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARIES. 

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 24040.

...ROGASH

345,0813 381,0774 381,0735 345,0775

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 19, 3:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCRobeson, Scotland6 hr
Apr 18, 8:45 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAbbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and 4 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Virginia, 1998Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 1998Tornado Watches in Maryland, 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.