Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 397
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 22, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 22, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 22, 1998, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 63 counties
Bond County, IL, Calhoun County, IL, Clark County, IL, Clay County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Cumberland County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Effingham County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Greene County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jasper County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Jersey County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Macoupin County, IL, Madison County, IL, Marion County, IL, Monroe County, IL, Montgomery County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Richland County, IL, Saint Clair County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Washington County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Posey County, IN, Crittenden County, KY, Union County, KY, Audrain County, MO, Callaway County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, City of Saint Louis, MO, Crawford County, MO, Dent County, MO, Franklin County, MO, Gasconade County, MO, Iron County, MO, Jefferson County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Madison County, MO, Maries County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, Osage County, MO, Perry County, MO, Phelps County, MO, Pike County, MO, Saint Charles County, MO, Saint Francois County, MO, Saint Louis County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Warren County, MO, Washington County, MO
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:34 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
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 5:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Phelps | 19 min |
| May 22, 5:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Crawford | 50 min |
| May 22, 9:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Posey | 41 min |
| May 22, 10:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Montgomery | 30 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 231 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 733 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 145 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 165 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
631 WWUS9 KMKC 222204 SEL7 MKC WW 222204 MOZ000-ILZ000-230400- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 397 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 504 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN MISSOURI SOUTHERN ILLINOIS EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 530 PM UNTIL 1100 PM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES SOUTH OF JEFFERSON CITY MISSOURI TO 60 MILES EAST OF MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS. 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 396... DISCUSSION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM HAS DEVELOPED OVER MO NEAR JEFFERSON CITY. ACTIVITY IS ALONG E-W STATIONARY FRONT. CAP APPEARS TO BE WEAKENING...THUS EXPECT ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE BOUNDARY THROUGH THIS EVENING. VAD WIND PROFILE FROM ST. CHARLES MO SHOWS SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SHEAR FOR SUPERCELLS. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030. ...VESCIO 392,0920 392,0874 371,0874 372,0920
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian and 33 more | 5 hr |
| May 21, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adair, Clark, Grundy, Knox, Lewis, Linn and 11 more | 6 hr |
| May 21, 11:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Andrew, Atchison, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Harrison and 3 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 1998Tornado Watches in Missouri, 1998Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 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.