Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 48
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 19, 1998, 4:00 PM EST for 19 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 19, 1998, 4:00 PM EST (21:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 19, 1998, 10:00 PM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Broward County, FL, Charlotte 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, Manatee County, FL, Martin County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 4:03 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 47 min |
| Feb 19, 8:22 PM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pasco | 48 min |
| Feb 19, 9:44 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Pinellas | 51 min |
| Feb 19, 9:53 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Manatee | 47 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 70 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
- 1837 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 65 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 45 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 161 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
958 WWUS9 KMKC 192045 SEL8 MKC WW 192045 FLZ000-200300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 48 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 345 PM EST THU FEB 19 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 400 PM UNTIL 1000 PM 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 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST OF SAINT PETERSBURG FLORIDA TO 15 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF WEST PALM BEACH 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...SUPERCELL STORM OFF THE WEST COAST OF FL WILL MOVE ONSHORE SHORTLY. OTHER ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE WARM FRONT THAT IS RETREATING NORTHWARD ACROSS THE PENINSULA. SHEAR PROFILES ARE CONDUCIVE FOR SUPERCELL STORMS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030. ...VESCIO 284,0825 272,0795 254,0795 270,0825
Nearby
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.