Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 91
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 8, 1998, 3:15 AM EST for 17 counties in Florida; 58 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 8, 1998, 3:15 AM EST (08:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 8, 1998, 9:00 AM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 75 counties
Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Echols County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Grady County, GA, Houston County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Turner County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Ware County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA
The radar
The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:18 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
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 6:27 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Gadsden | 63 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 147 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
- 52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -123 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 522 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 518 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 709 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
367 WWUS9 KMKC 080746 SEL1 MKC WW 080746 FLZ000-GAZ000-081400- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 91 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 246 AM EST SUN MAR 8 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN FLORIDA SOUTHERN GEORGIA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING FROM 315 AM UNTIL 900 AM 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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM MACON GEORGIA TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST 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... CONTINUE...WW 90... DISCUSSION...CONVECTIVE CLUSTER APPROACHING WATCH AREA ALONG 60 KT LOW LEVEL JET AXIS. DESPITE WEAK INSTABILITY...STRONG WIND SHEAR AND LIFTING ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARY SHOULD SUPPORT ISOLATED TORNADOES AND DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS. 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 24040. ...ROGASH 324,0821 292,0820 292,0844 324,0850
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 10:45 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 8, 5:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 8, 9:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Franklin and 12 more | 7 hr |
| Mar 8, 11:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 8, 4:00 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia and 22 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 8, 12:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 65 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 8, 4:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee and 28 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1998Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.