Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 37

February 16, 199827 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; 20 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 16, 1998, 12:15 PM CST for 27 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; 20 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 16, 1998, 12:15 PM CST (18:15 UTC)
Expired: Feb 16, 1998, 6:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 55 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Carroll County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Early County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Pike County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Troup County, GA

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:17 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 16, 3:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia, Santa Rosa	61 min
Feb 16, 3:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Walton	43 min
Feb 16, 4:15 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	60 min

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 180 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 587 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 690 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

280 
WWUS9 KMKC 161738
SEL7  
MKC WW 161738
ALZ000-GAZ000-FLZ000-170000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 37
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1138 AM CST MON FEB 16 1998

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

   EASTERN ALABAMA                            
   WESTERN GEORGIA                            
   WESTERN FLORIDA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1215 PM UNTIL 600
PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF CRESTVIEW FLORIDA TO 35
MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF ANNISTON ALABAMA.

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 35...WW 36...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG N/Z BOUNDARY CENTRAL
AL.  AIRMASS IN WARM SECTOR HAS BECOME QUITE UNSTABLE WITH CAPES TO
2000 J/KG AND WIND PROFILES ARE FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS.  E/W WARM
FRONT INTO CENTRAL GA WILL FOCUS AREA OF CONVERGENCE FOR
INTENSIFICATION OF STORMS .


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 480. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...HALES

301,0872 334,0862 334,0840 301,0850

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 16, 7:30 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Alachua, Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Hillsborough, Levy and 4 more	5 hr
Feb 16, 12:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough and 13 more	5 hr
Feb 16, 5:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 18 more	7 hr

Nearby

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