Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 23, NWS State College, PA

October 23, 1990Snyder County, Union County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Oct 23, 1990, 7:09 PM EDT for Snyder County, Union County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 23, 1990, 7:09 PM EDT (23:09 UTC)
Expired
Oct 23, 1990, 10:15 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Snyder County, PA, Union 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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 215 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-10-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 345 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-10-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 206 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
345 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-493 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
548 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
206 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
234 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 KHAR 232309 RRA
FFWHAR
PAC109-119-133-240215-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA
709 PM EDT TUE OCT 23 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HARRISBURG HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
          ...SNYDER...UNION
IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
          ...YORK
 
AT 700PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HARRISBURG INDICATED WIDELY
SCATTERED LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINSHOWERS OVER THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA
VALLEY...NORTHCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...AND PORTIONS OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA. REPORTS FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CENTERS IN
UNION...YORK...AND SYNDER COUNTIES INDICATE THAT MOST CREEKS LOCATED
IN THOSE AREAS ARE BANKFULL AND SOME STREET FLOODING HAS OCCURRED.
ALTHOUGH THE RAIN HAS ENDED IN SOME AREAS...ADDITIONAL WATERS UPSTREAM
OF THE CREEKS MAY CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLOODING.
 
THE RAINSHOWERS WERE MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 10 MILES AN
HOUR.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SP#OTS 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.
 
WSO HAR CRUZ

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, Oct 23, 2:52 PM EDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before
PAZ008-009-232100-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA.
300 PM EDT   TUE  OCT 23 1990

...A SMALL STREAM FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT...

AT 245  PM MOST AREAS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONTINUED TO RECIEVE
LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN.  THE RAIN HAS BEEN SPREAD OVER ENOUGH TIME
THAT ONLY MINOR FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS HAS OCCURRED SO FAR. THE SMALL
STREAM FLOOD WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL LATE THIS EVENING AS
RAIN IS EX$PECTED TO CONTINUE AND MOST AREA STREAMS ARE NEAR FULL NOW.

RAIN WILL CONTINUE OVER THE WATCH AREA UNTIL LATE THIS EVENING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS RAIN EVENT.

TK

The office that day

Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 23, 3:03 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming, Sullivan6 hr
Oct 23, 3:05 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPHuntingdon3 hr
Oct 23, 3:19 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPYork4 hr
Oct 23, 3:31 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPMifflin4 hr
Oct 23, 3:40 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBradford, Tioga5 hr
Oct 23, 4:00 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPUnion4 hr
Oct 23, 7:09 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPYork3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1990Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.