Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

November 16, 1989Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 16, 1989, 10:32 AM EST for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 58 min. 3 reports 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
Nov 16, 1989, 10:32 AM EST (15:32 UTC)
Expired
Nov 16, 1989, 11:30 AM EST
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

County Montgomery County, PA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Nov 16, 11:00 AM ESTTornado F0Montgomery, PA
Nov 16, 11:10 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Montgomery, PA
Nov 16, 11:10 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Montgomery, PA

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. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Atlantic City In, NJ (KACY), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 112 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Atlantic City In, NJ at 12:00Z on 1989-11-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 195 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Atlantic City In, NJ at 12:00Z on 1989-11-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 380 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
195 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
575 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
380 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
388 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPHL 161535
SVRPHL
PAC091-161630-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHILADELPHIA PA
1032 AM EST THU NOV 16 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHILADELPHIA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA
          ...MONTGOMERY
 
AT 1030 AM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS FROM JUST EAST OF READING IN BERKS COUNTY OF
PENNSYLVANIA TO JUST WEST OF WILMINGTON DELAWARE. WIND GUSTS
REPORTED BEFORE 10 AM WITH THIS LINE WERE 76 MILES AN HOUR
IN LANCASTER CITY AND 64 MILES AN HOUR IN BALTIMORE MARYLAND.
 
A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR SOUTHEASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY UNTIL 300 PM EDT.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH
LITTLE OR NO ADVANCED WARNING.
 
WITH LEAVES DOWN ALONG THE STREET AND STORM SEWERS CLOGGED...
HEAVY RAINS WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM MAY CAUSE FLOODING OF
STEETS AND UNDERPASSES VERY QUICKLY.  DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR INTO
AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.  THE WATER MAY BE DEEPER
THAN YOU THINK.  IF CAUGHT IN RISING WATERS...ABANDON YOUR CAR
QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
JWH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 16, 10:04 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIChester56 min
Nov 16, 10:44 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIDelaware61 min
Nov 16, 10:49 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBucks56 min
Nov 16, 10:54 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIPhiladelphia66 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1989Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.