Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 35

February 16, 199810 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 16, 1998, 8:30 AM EST for 10 counties in Florida. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 16, 1998, 8:30 AM EST (13:30 UTC)
Expired: Feb 16, 1998, 1:00 PM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Alachua County, FL, Citrus County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Hernando County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Levy County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Sumter County, FL

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:31 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 16, 9:29 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Citrus	31 min
Feb 16, 11:28 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TBW	Pinellas	32 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 110 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: 368 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 456 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 609 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.0
Supercell composite: 5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

844 
WWUS9 KMKC 161303
SEL5  
MKC WW 161303
FLZ000-161800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 35
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
803 AM EST MON FEB 16 1998

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

   WESTERN FLORIDA PENINSULA                         
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 830 AM UNTIL 100
PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST OF CROSS CITY FLORIDA TO 15 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF SARASOTA 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 34...

DISCUSSION...LOW-TOPPED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OFF THE
FLORIDA GULF COAST...WITH CELLS MOVING NORTH-NORTHEAST TOWARD THE
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PARTS OF THE GULF COASTAL COUNTIES.  12Z TBW
SOUNDING SHOWS VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL WINDS THAT VEER WITH HEIGHT
CREATING STRONG SHEAR AND HELICITY.  ENVIRONMENT FAVORS DEVELOPMENT
OF MINIATURE SUPERCELLS WITH POTENTIAL FOR TORNADO FORMATION AS
STORMS MOVE ONSHORE DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 300. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21050.


...WEISS

294,0821 271,0814 271,0825 293,0832

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 16, 1:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough and 13 more	5 hr
Feb 16, 1:15 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more	6 hr
Feb 16, 6:15 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 18 more	7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.