Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 55

February 22, 199820 counties in Florida

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 22, 1998, 7:30 AM CST for 20 counties in Florida. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 22, 1998, 7:30 AM CST (13:30 UTC)
Expired: Feb 22, 1998, 1:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Levy County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:31 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 22, 7:44 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Bay	61 min
Feb 22, 7:44 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Gulf	61 min
Feb 22, 8:06 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Franklin	54 min
Feb 22, 8:40 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Liberty	60 min
Feb 22, 8:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Wakulla	60 min
Feb 22, 8:54 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Leon	61 min
Feb 22, 9:26 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Jefferson	44 min
Feb 22, 9:32 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Taylor	48 min
Feb 22, 9:42 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Madison	63 min
Feb 22, 9:56 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Lafayette	94 min
Feb 22, 10:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Gilchrist, Suwannee	91 min
Feb 22, 10:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Hamilton	91 min
Feb 22, 10:14 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAX	Hamilton	6 hr
Feb 22, 10:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dixie	55 min
Feb 22, 10:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dixie	45 min
Feb 22, 12:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TBW	Levy	31 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 72 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: 1352 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 538 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 683 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.

199 
WWUS9 KMKC 221254
SEL5  
MKC WW 221254
FLZ000-221900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
754 AM EST SUN FEB 22 1998

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

   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 830 AM UNTIL 200
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 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST OF PANAMA CITY FLORIDA TO 25
MILES NORTHEAST OF CROSS CITY 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 SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 54.  WATCH NUMBER 54 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 830 AM EST.

DISCUSSION...STRONG BOW ECHO MOVING 25055 JUST S OF WRN FL
PANHANDLE WILL MOVE INLAND CENTRAL FL PANHANDLE.  VERY IMPRESSIVE
WIND PROFILES WITH INITIALLY WEAK INSTABILITY.  RAPID
DESTABILIZATION WILL TAKE PLACE DURING MORNING...INCREASING THREAT
FOR SUPERCELLS AND 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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...HALES

310,0863 304,0824 290,0824 292,0863

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 22, 10:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 5 more	5 hr
Feb 22, 1:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Brevard, Citrus, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando and 18 more	7 hr

Nearby

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.