Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Cleveland, OH

February 16, 1990Crawford County, Pennsylvania

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 1990, 3:01 PM EST for Crawford County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 59 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
Feb 16, 1990, 3:01 PM EST (20:01 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1990, 4:00 PM EST
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Cleveland, OH
Area
Whole counties

County Crawford 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
Feb 16, 3:20 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Crawford, 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 142 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1990-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1990-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 244 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
682 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
244 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
224 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KERI 162001
SVRERI
PAC039-162100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE PA
301 PM EST FRI FEB 16 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF PENNSYLVANIA
      CRAWFORD

AT 258 PM EST RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ALONG THE OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA BORDER ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF LINESVILLE PA. THIS
STORM WAS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEAOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  DO NOT STAND NEAR WINDOWS.  DO NOT USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.  MOTORISTS SHOULD AVOID LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

 REEDY

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 16, 2:39 PM EST, 22 minutes before
PAZ001-002-003-162100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE, PA
239 PM EST FRI FEB 16 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...

A COLD FRONT WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING ACROSS NORTHEAST OHIO
AND INTO NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA.  THE WIND IS SWITCHING TO THE WEST AND
INCREASING IN SPEED TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.

AT 221 PM EST A GUST OF 44 MILES AN HOUR WAS RECORDED AT ERIE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.

THESE STRONG GUSTY WINDS COMBINED WITH THE CONDITIONS OF TREES AND UTILITY
POLES IN THE ERIE AREA COULD PRODUCE MORE POWER OUTAGES AND DOWNED TREES.

PERSONS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR FLYING DEBRIS AND TAKE COVER AS NECESSARY.
STAY TUNED ToO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER UPDATES.
REEDY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 16, 3:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEErie53 min
Feb 16, 4:23 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEVenango37 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.