Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 402

May 23, 199825 counties in Illinois; 4 counties in Kansas; 36 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 23, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT for 25 counties in Illinois; 4 counties in Kansas; 36 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 23, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 1998, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 65 counties

Adams County, IL, Brown County, IL, Calhoun County, IL, Cass County, IL, Christian County, IL, DeWitt County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Greene County, IL, Jersey County, IL, Logan County, IL, Macon County, IL, Macoupin County, IL, Mason County, IL, McLean County, IL, Menard County, IL, Montgomery County, IL, Morgan County, IL, Moultrie County, IL, Piatt County, IL, Pike County, IL, Sangamon County, IL, Schuyler County, IL, Scott County, IL, Shelby County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Johnson County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Miami County, KS, Wyandotte County, KS, Adair County, MO, Audrain County, MO, Boone County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Caldwell County, MO, Callaway County, MO, Carroll County, MO, Cass County, MO, Chariton County, MO, Clay County, MO, Clinton County, MO, Cooper County, MO, Daviess County, MO, DeKalb County, MO, Howard County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Johnson County, MO, Knox County, MO, Lafayette County, MO, Lewis County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Linn County, MO, Livingston County, MO, Macon County, MO, Marion County, MO, Moniteau County, MO, Monroe County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, Pettis County, MO, Pike County, MO, Platte County, MO, Ralls County, MO, Randolph County, MO, Ray County, MO, Saline County, MO, Shelby County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 178 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 23, 5:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Audrain, Montgomery	46 min
May 23, 5:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Audrain, Boone	48 min
May 23, 6:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Saline	30 min
May 23, 6:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Pike	50 min
May 23, 6:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Chariton	67 min
May 23, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Monroe	51 min
May 23, 6:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Greene, Jersey	49 min
May 23, 6:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb	45 min
May 23, 6:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Greene	50 min
May 23, 7:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Linn	50 min
May 23, 7:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Shelby	48 min
May 23, 7:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Shelby	55 min
May 23, 7:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Macon	40 min
May 23, 8:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Carroll, Ray	45 min
May 23, 8:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Chariton, Macon	48 min
May 23, 8:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Daviess	30 min
May 23, 8:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Livingston	61 min
May 23, 11:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Marion	46 min

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 278 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: 780 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 63 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

625 
WWUS9 KMKC 232213
SEL2  
MKC WW 232213
KSZ000-MOZ000-ILZ000-240500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 402
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
513 PM CDT SAT MAY 23 1998

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

   EAST CENTRAL KANSAS                             
   NORTHERN MISSOURI                           
   WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS                           

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 530 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT 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 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF LEAVENWORTH KANSAS
TO 25 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF DECATUR 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 401...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING SUPERFCELLS...EXPECTED TO
INCREASE THIS EVENING ALONG STALLED FRONT OVER THE LWR MO/MID MS
VALLEY REGION.  LARGE SCALE ASCENT LIKELY TO BE ENHANCED BY UPPER
LEVEL DIVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH SPEED MAX EJECTING NNEWD FROM SRN
KS.  SURFACE-BASED CAPE RANGES FROM 2500-3500 K/KG ALONG FRONT...
WITH AMPLE VERTICAL SHEAR /700 MB WSW FLOW AROUND 30 KTS/ TO
SUPPORT ROTATING STORMS...ESPECIALLY ALONG FRONT.   

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 25035.


...CORFIDI

395,0950 404,0882 390,0882 381,0950

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 23, 3:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Alexander, Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Fayette, Franklin and 16 more	6 hr
May 22, 9:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Cloud, Decatur, Graham, Jewell, Mitchell, Norton and 9 more	6 hr
May 23, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Adair, Atchison, Gentry, Harrison, Knox, Mercer and 6 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Missouri, 1998 Tornado Watches in Illinois, 1998 Tornado Watches in Kansas, 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.