Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 50
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 19, 1998, 9:00 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, 9:00 PM EST (02:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 20, 1998, 3:00 AM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Brevard County, FL, Charlotte County, FL, DeSoto County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hardee County, FL, Highlands County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Indian River County, FL, Lake County, FL, Manatee County, FL, Okeechobee County, FL, Orange County, FL, Osceola County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Polk County, FL, Saint Lucie County, FL, Sarasota County, FL, Seminole County, FL
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:46 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
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 9:31 PM EST | Tornado Warning | MLB | Orange, Osceola | 49 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 |
| Feb 19, 10:23 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Orange | 37 min |
| Feb 19, 10:37 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB | Brevard | 58 min |
| Feb 19, 10:48 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Manatee | 47 min |
| Feb 19, 10:54 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Polk | 46 min |
| Feb 20, 12:14 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 66 min |
| Feb 20, 1:25 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Pinellas | 4 hr |
| Feb 20, 2:10 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TBW | Hillsborough, Manatee | 30 min |
| Feb 20, 2:20 AM EST | Tornado Warning | TBW | Hillsborough | 30 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 53 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
- 762 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -24 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 786 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 78 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 267 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 289 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.6
- Supercell composite
- 7.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
586 WWUS9 KMKC 200133 SEL0 MKC WW 200133 FLZ000-200800- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 50 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 833 PM EST THU FEB 19 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 900 PM UNTIL 300 AM EST. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF SARASOTA FLORIDA TO 10 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF MELBOURNE 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 48. WATCH NUMBER 48 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 900 PM EST. CONTINUE...WW 49... DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER APPROACHING FLORIDA WEST COAST ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARY AND AHEAD OF UPPER SHORT WAVE. MODERATE INSTABILITY PRESENT WITH CAPES FROM 1000 TO 1500 J/KG. 40 KT LOW LEVEL JET...70 KT MID LEVEL FLOW AND VEERING WIND PROFILE INDICATE THREAT OF A FEW TORNADIC SUPERCELLS. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23045. ...ROGASH 282,0830 290,0804 271,0800 263,0822
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 3:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 12 more | 4 hr |
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.