Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 307
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 7, 1998, 9:30 PM EDT for 36 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in North Carolina; 35 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 7, 1998, 9:30 PM EDT (01:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 1998, 2:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 75 counties
Baldwin County, GA, Banks County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Hart County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Madison County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Screven County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Abbeville County, SC, Aiken County, SC, Allendale County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Berkeley County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Horry County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
Warnings issued inside it
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 9:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Marlboro | 45 min |
| May 7, 9:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Madison | 49 min |
| May 7, 9:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Edgefield | 67 min |
| May 7, 10:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Oglethorpe | 47 min |
| May 7, 10:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Colleton, Dorchester | 62 min |
| May 7, 10:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lincoln | 55 min |
| May 7, 11:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Banks, Hall | 32 min |
| May 7, 11:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Berkeley | 63 min |
| May 7, 11:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Columbia | 60 min |
| May 7, 11:59 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | McCormick | 31 min |
| May 8, 12:03 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 47 min |
| May 8, 12:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Orangeburg | 47 min |
| May 8, 12:52 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Clarke, Oconee, Walton | 48 min |
| May 8, 1:13 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Morgan | 47 min |
| May 8, 1:29 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Greene, Oglethorpe | 51 min |
| May 8, 1:56 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Taliaferro, Wilkes | 49 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 158 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
- 909 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -107 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 990 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 145 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 5.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
012 WWUS9 KMKC 080108 SEL7 MKC WW 080108 GAZ000-SCZ000-NCZ000-080600- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 307 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 908 PM EDT THU MAY 7 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN GEORGIA MOST OF SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 930 PM UNTIL 200 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 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH OF MACON GEORGIA TO 30 MILES SOUTH OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA. 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 303. WATCH NUMBER 303 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 930 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 304...WW 305...WW 306... DISCUSSION...CLUSTERS OF STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS GA/SC. CELLS SHOULD MOVE INTO SOUTHEASTERN NC WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. SHEAR PROFILES WILL SUPPORT SUPERCELL/TORNADO THREAT THROUGH 06Z. 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 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035. ...HART 342,0833 345,0775 324,0775 321,0833
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 9:00 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Chattooga and 33 more | 5 hr |
| May 8, 2:00 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Bulloch, Burke, Butts and 58 more | 6 hr |
| May 8, 1:15 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 41 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1998Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 1998Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 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.