Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 8, NWS State College, PA

October 13, 19904 counties in Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Oct 13, 1990, 4:50 AM EDT for 4 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 55 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 13, 1990, 4:50 AM EDT (08:50 UTC)
Expired
Oct 13, 1990, 5:45 AM EDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Northumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA, 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 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 202 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 00:00Z on 1990-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 22 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1990-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 75 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
22 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
775 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 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 130850 RRA
FFWHAR
PAC097-109-119-099-130945-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HARRISBURG PA
450 AM EDT SAT OCT 13 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HARRISBURG HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
          ...NORTHUMBERLAND...SNYDER...UNION
IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
          ...PERRY
 
AT 430 AM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HARRISBURG INDICATED AN AREA 100
MILES WIDE OF RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS WITH POSSIBLE EMBEDDED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. SEVERAL REPORTS OF
LOCAL STREET FLOODING ALONG WITH CREEKS FLOODING THEIR BANKS HAVE BEEN
REPORTED BY STATE POLICE AND THE RIVER FORECAST CENTER IN HARRISBURG.
 
THE AREA OF RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT
25 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 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.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT
STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS TO RISE.
 
WSO HAR CRUZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 13, 1:49 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPNorthumberland, Perry56 min
Oct 13, 2:25 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland, Perry65 min
Oct 13, 2:25 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPNorthumberland, Union65 min
Oct 13, 3:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPNorthumberland, Snyder, Union61 min
Oct 13, 3:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland, Juniata, Perry61 min
Oct 13, 5:42 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPNorthumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union2 hr
Oct 13, 6:50 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBradford4 hr
Oct 13, 7:55 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming4 hr
Oct 13, 9:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams3 hr
Oct 13, 9:50 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming4 hr
Oct 13, 10:28 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPUnion3 hr
Oct 13, 3:49 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland4 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.