Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Oct 1, 1986, 5:00 PM EDT for Fayette County, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 1, 1986, 5:00 PM EDT (21:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 1, 1986, 6:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Fayette County, PA, Somerset County, PA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 83 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
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 611 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 21 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 69 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KPIT 012106 TORPIT PAC111-051-012200- BULLETIN BROADCAST IMMEDIATELY TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 500 PM EDT WED OCT 01 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 600 PM FOR THESE COUNTIES IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA...FAYETTE AND SOMERSET AT 500 PM STATE POLICE REPORTED A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP IN FAYETTE COUNTTY. THE STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. A TORNADO WARNING MEANS A TORNADO IS IMMINENT OR IN PROGRESS. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND..HAIL..HEAVY RAIN..AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY. COVER YOUR HEAD. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS..DOORS..AND OUTSIDE WALLS. TO REPORT A TORNADO OR OTHER SEVERE WEATHER..CALL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT AREA CODE 412 644 2888.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 3:41 PM EDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA 340 PM EDT WED OCT 01 1986 ...THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ONER THE COMMONWEALTH AGAIN... VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE OVER WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. AT 3 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A BROAD AREA OF RAIN COVERING MOST OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA..SOUTHEAST OHIO..AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. THIS AREA OF RAIN HAS SOME VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED WITHIN IT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. JUST NORTH OF MOUNDSVILLE WEST VIRGINIA..MOVING EAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL BE ENTERING WASHINGTON COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. PORTIONS OF ARMSTRONG AND BUTLER COUNTIES HAVE RECIEVED A HALF INCH (.50 INCH) OF RAIN DURING THE RAIN TODAY. THE POSSIBILITY FOR MORE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT. PERSONS SHOULD KEEP ADVISED OF THE LATEST WEATHER ADVISORIES AND STATEMENTS. HOLLAND/DRZL
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 3:41 PM EDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA 341 PM EDT WED OCT 01 1986 ...THUNDERSTORMS MOVE OVER THE COMMONWEALTH AGAIN... VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE OVER WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. AT 3 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A BROAD AREA OF RAIN COVERING MOST OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA..SOUTHEAST OHIO..AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. THIS AREA OF RAIN HAS SOME VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED WITHIN IT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. JUST NORTH OF MOUNDSVILLE WEST VIRGINIA..MOVING EAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL BE ENTERING WASHINGTON COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. PORTIONS OF ARMSTRONG AND BUTLER COUNTIES HAVE RECIEVED A HALF INCH (.50 INCH) OF RAIN DURING THE RAIN TODAY. THE POSSIBILITY FOR MORE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT. PERSONS SHOULD KEEP ADVISED OF THE LATEST WEATHER ADVISORIES AND STATEMENTS. HOLLAND/DRZL
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 4:47 PM EDT, 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA 442 PM EDT WED OCT 01 1986 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO FAYETTE AND SOMERSET COUNTIES... STONG THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN GREENE AND WESTMORELAND COUNTIES WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH FAYETTE AND SOMERSET COUNTIES BETWEEN 450 PM AND 600 PM. THESE SHOWERS WILL PUSH EAST INTO BEDFORD COUNTY BY 600 PM. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. THE HEAVY RAIN MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..GO TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IMMEDIATELY. DAVIS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 3:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Washington | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986
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.