Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 73, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

August 5, 1999Worcester County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 1999, 3:05 PM EDT for Worcester County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 40 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 5, 1999, 3:05 PM EDT (19:05 UTC)
Expired: Aug 5, 1999, 3:45 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Whole counties

County Worcester County, MA

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 5, 3:08 PM EDT	Hail 1	Gardner, MA

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 162 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: 323 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 525 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 61 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBOX 051908 RRA
SVRBOS
MAC027-051945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
305 PM EDT THU AUG 5 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL WORCESTER COUNTY IN CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING FITCHBURG

* UNTIL 345 PM EDT.

* AT 301 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR GARDNER MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS WITHIN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE WESTMINSTER
  AND LUNENBURG.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND/OR WIND STRONG ENOUGH TO
KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES. MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM
WINDpOWS.

$$
AN/RMT

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 5, 9:57 AM EDT, 5 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 9:57 AM EDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
957 AM EDT THU AUG 5 1999

RADAR EXPECTED RTS ARD 1130 AM.

SVR: PER 1210Z SPC AND GRAPHICS..ISO SVR POSS. 12Z APPEARS A LITTLE
     WETTER THAN MODELED BY 00Z ETA AND 00Z ETA FCST WAS QUITE
     UNSTABLE THIS AFTN WITH TT NR 54 AND PLENTY OF INSTABILITY WITH
     PLENTY OF WIND ALOFT.  WHILE DRY AIR MAY MITIGATE SVR THREAT
     AM STILL CONCERNED FOR WIND DAMAGE.  BLV WE REACH MAX OF 85-87F
     THIS AFTN WITH SFC TDS IN MID 60S WITH THREAT OF TSTMS
     STARTING WEST MASS EARLY AFTN AND REACHING COAST IN DYING OUT
     PHASE ARD 00Z.

     CONVECTIVE TEMP IS NR 82F.  TROP AND EL ARD 34-35K WITH MPL
     43K...WBZ ARD 10K WITH PW ABT 1.3 AND STM INFLOW ARD 25KT.

     COORD ALY ON WORDING OF ANY THREAT.  NO SPS.

.BOX...NONE.

DRAG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 5, 2:04 PM EDT, 1 hour 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
204 PM EDT THU AUG 05 1999

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 PM    SUDBURY                   MA   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/99   MIDDLESEX                      DIME TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL
                                          REPORTED BY FIRE DEPT
                                          SUDBURY FLATS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 5, 2:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Middlesex	42 min
Aug 5, 3:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Norfolk, Plymouth	42 min
Aug 5, 3:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Essex	51 min
Aug 5, 3:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Worcester	49 min
Aug 5, 4:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Norfolk	41 min
Aug 5, 5:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Bristol	46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Massachusetts, 1999 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1999

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.