Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989
Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 1989, 3:44 PM EDT for Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 16, 1989, 3:44 PM EDT (19:44 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 1989, 9:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Dauphin 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
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 517 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 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 KHAR 161946
FFWHAR
PAC043-162345-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA
344 PM EDT TUE MAY 16 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HARRISBURG HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 9 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
...NORTHERN DAUPHIN
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HARRISBURG HAS ISSUED A SMALL STREAM
FLOOD WARNING FOR THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF DAUPHIN COUNTY UNTIL 9 PM
THIS TUESDAY EVENING.
EMERGENCY MANAGMENT PERSONAL FROM DAUPHIN COUNTY INDICATED THAT SMALL
STEAMS AND CREEKS IN THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY WERE BEGINNING
TO GO OUT OF THEIR BANKS.
RADAR AT 340 PM WAS SHOWING THE RAIN OVER DAUPHIN COUNTY SLOWLY MOVING
OUT OF THE AREA.
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOTi
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, May 16, 12:07 PM EDT, 3 hours 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA.
1215 PM EDT TUE MAY 16 1989
....OUR MONSOON WEATHER IS SLOWLY WINDING DOWN....
RAIN THAT BEGAN TO FALL ACROSS THE AREA ON THE FIRST OF THE MONTH
HAS CONTINUED AND SO FAR THEIR HAS BEEN JUST ONE DAY WITHOUT RAIN
AND THAT WAS ON THE FOURTH.
AS OF NOON TIME THE TOTAL RAINFALL IN HARRISBURG HAS BEEN 8.78 INCHES.
THIS MAKES MAY OF 1989 THE SECOND WETTEST OF RECORD SO FAR. THE WETTEST
MAY WAS BACK IN 1899 WHEN 9.51 INCHES WAS RECORDED.
RAINFALL SO FAR THIS MONTH HAS BEEN ALMOST AS MUCH AS HAD FALLEN DURING
THE PREVIOUS FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR. AS OF THE END OF APRIL THE YEARLY
RAINFALL IN HARRISBURG WAS 8.89 INCHES.
THE SLOW MOVING STORM SYSTEM THAT HAS KEPT THE AREA VERY SOGGY THE PAST
SEVERAL DAYS SHOULD FINALLY GET OUT OF OUR HAIR LATER TONIGHT.
HIGH PRESSURE IN THE MIDWEST SHOULD BEGIN TO PUMP DRIER AIR INTO THE
REGION WEDNESDAY. THIS HIGH SHOULD GIVE US PARTLY SUNNY DRY
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH TEMPERATURES GETTING BACK
TO NORMAL OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE.
CURLL WSO HARRISBURGSpecial weather statement, May 16, 3:09 PM EDT, 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA.
305 PM EDT TUE MAY 16 1989
....SMALL STREAMS APPROACHING BANKFULL STAGES IN FULTON AND FRANKLIN
COUNTIES...
THE HEAVY RAINS OF TODAY HAVE CAUSED MANY SMALL STREAMS IN FULTON
AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES TO RISE TO NEAR BANKFUL.
RADAR SHOWS RAIN CONTINUING ACROSS THESE COUNTIES BUT THE RAIN AREA HAS
DECREASED SOMEWHAT DURING THE PAST HOUR.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONAL FROM FULTON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES INDICATED
TO THIS OFFICE THAT NO MAJOR PROBLEMS WERE OCCURRING ON THEIR CREEKS.
HOWEVER IF HEAVY RAIN WOULD REDEVELOP IN THESE AREAS A FLOOD WARNING WOULD
BE NEEDED.
PERSONS LIVING ALONG SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS IN FULGTON AND FRANKLIN
COUNTIES SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOODING.
CURLL WSO HARRISBURGNearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1989Every flash flood warning in 1989
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.