Spencer Tornado and Midwest Derecho Event Data from 1998

Case 018 documents two major convective weather events from 1998: a tornado impacting Spencer, South Dakota, and a long-lived derecho moving from Minnesota to New York. The dataset is part of a COMET case study series and was compiled by SCIOPS, with data sourced from UCAR/JOSS/NOAA/CODIAC. The last recorded update for this specific case is from June 1998.

Use Cases

• Analyze the temporal progression and spatial track of the derecho event using time-series and geospatial coordinates.
• Study the environmental conditions and storm characteristics leading to the Spencer tornado using convective case parameters.
• Compare the intensity and duration metrics between the tornado and derecho events documented in the case study.
• Validate severe weather prediction models against the documented storm paths and event timelines from 1998.

Strengths

• Focuses on two well-documented, significant severe weather events from a single year.
• Part of a curated COMET case study series designed for meteorological analysis.

Limitations

• Data is from a single year (1998) and may not represent current climatic conditions.
• Specific data volume, file formats, and available columns are not described.

Provenance

Source

UCAR/JOSS/NOAA/CODIAC, compiled by SCIOPS for the COMET project.

Collection Method

Case study compilation from observational data sources.

Time Range

1998.

Freshness

Historical data; last updated date is 1998-06-01.

Geography

United States, specifically Spencer, South Dakota, and a track from Minnesota to New York.