Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 33

February 15, 199830 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 15, 1998, 6:15 PM EST for 30 counties in Florida. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 15, 1998, 6:15 PM EST (23:15 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1998, 1:00 AM EST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 30 counties

Brevard County, FL, Broward County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Collier County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lake County, FL, Lee County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Miami-Dade County, FL, Monroe County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL, Seminole County, FL, Sumter County, FL

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:18 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 7:04 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLCollier61 min
Feb 15, 7:05 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBWLee80 min
Feb 15, 7:18 PM ESTTornado WarningTBWLee37 min
Feb 15, 8:02 PM ESTTornado WarningMFLCollier58 min
Feb 15, 8:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLGlades, Hendry63 min
Feb 15, 9:19 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLBroward, Palm Beach61 min
Feb 15, 9:30 PM ESTTornado WarningMLBMartin, Okeechobee, Saint Lucie50 min
Feb 15, 11:07 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFLPalm Beach38 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 146 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-02-15Temperature 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-02-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 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
951 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
94 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.

888 
WWUS9 KMKC 152246
SEL3  
MKC WW 152246
FLZ000-160600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 33
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
546 PM EST SUN FEB 15 1998

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

   SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 615 PM UNTIL
100 AM 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 EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTHWEST OF ORLANDO FLORIDA TO 75 MILES
EAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA.

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...POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS THIS
EVENING ACROSS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL FL AS EASTERLY LOW-LEVEL
FLOW...COUPLED WITH INCREASING SWLY FLOW ALOFT...FAVORS THE
CONTINUED EWD MOVEMENT OF ERN GULF OF MEXICO SQUALL LINE.  RETURN
FLOW AHEAD OF LINE SHOULD ALLOW BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS TO RISE
INTO THE LOW 70S OVER EXTREME S FL...WITH MID 60S EXTENDING N INTO
THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE.  OVERALL SETUP FAVORS EMBEDDED BOWS
OVER N PORTION OF LINE...WITH INCREASING POTENTIAL FOR LARGER-SCALE
BOWS AND ASSOCIATED SUPERCELLS S INTO THE KEYS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...CORFIDI

285,0802 243,0791 243,0815 285,0830

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.