Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3, NWS Cleveland, OH
NWS Cleveland, OH issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 1990, 4:23 PM EST for Venango County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 37 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, 4:23 PM EST (21:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 16, 1990, 5:00 PM EST
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Cleveland, OH
- Area
- Whole counties
County Venango 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 4:50 PM EST | Hail 0.75 | Venango, 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, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 114 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KERI 162123
SVRERI
PAC121-162200-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE PA
423 PM EST FRI FEB 16 1990
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTY
IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF PENNSYLVANIA
VENANGO
AT 415 PM EST RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN VENANGO
COUNTY...5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FRANKLIN. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
AS THIS STORM MOVED THROUGH MERCER COUNTY DIME SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN SHARON.
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.
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO0
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.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, 1 hour 44 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
Special weather statement, Feb 16, 4:03 PM EST, 20 minutes before
OHZ004-PAZ003-162300 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE YOUNGSTOWN OH 356 PM EST FRI FEB 16 1990 AT 350 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHWEST MERCER COUNTY IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. AT 340 PM EST A SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL IN SHARON, PENNSYLVANIA. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. DOXEY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 3:01 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Crawford | 59 min |
| Feb 16, 3:22 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Erie | 53 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.