Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 3

January 7, 199810 counties in Alabama; 14 counties in Florida; 17 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 7, 1998, 9:15 AM CST for 10 counties in Alabama; 14 counties in Florida; 17 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 7, 1998, 9:15 AM CST (15:15 UTC)
Expired: Jan 7, 1998, 3:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 41 counties

Barbour County, AL, Butler County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Pike County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lee County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:15 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 7, 9:40 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	60 min
Jan 7, 10:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler	61 min
Jan 7, 10:43 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	62 min
Jan 7, 12:25 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Barbour, Lee, Macon, Russell	2 hr
Jan 7, 12:25 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Pike	2 hr
Jan 7, 12:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour	48 min

The nearest sounding before it

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 102 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: 346 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 443 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 277 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 324 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

074 
WWUS9 KMKC 071441
SEL3  
MKC WW 071441
FLZ000-ALZ000-GAZ000-072100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 3
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
941 AM EST WED JAN 7 1998

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

   THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA                            
   SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA                            
   SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1015 AM UNTIL
400 PM EST.

TORNADOES...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 80 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF CRESTVIEW FLORIDA TO 25 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHEAST OF MOULTRIE 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 2.  WATCH NUMBER 2 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1015 AM EST.

DISCUSSION...CONVECTIVE CLUSTER CONTINUES MOVING ALONG OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY AND UPPER VORTICITY AXIS INTO REGION OF WEAK INSTABILITY
BUT VERY STRONG WIND SHEAR. STORM RELATIVE HELICITIES ABOVE 300
M2/SEC2 INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW DAMAGING TORNADOES.

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 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...ROGASH

315,0865 315,0833 293,0833 293,0865

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 7, 4:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia, Mobile, Washington	6 hr
Jan 7, 3:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette and 4 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1998 Tornado Watches in Florida, 1998 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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.