Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

February 16, 1990Beaver County, Butler County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 1990, 4:15 PM EST for Beaver County, Butler County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 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
Feb 16, 1990, 4:15 PM EST (21:15 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1990, 5:15 PM EST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Beaver County, PA, Butler 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, 4:45 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Beaver, PA
Feb 16, 4:53 PM ESTHail 0.75Butler, PA
Feb 16, 5:14 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Butler, 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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 43 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 KPIT 162118 RRA
SVRPIT
PAC007-019-162215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
415 PM EST FRI FEB 16 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  515 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN WEST PENNSYLVANIA
          ...BEAVER...BUTLER.
 
AT 415 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST WEST
OF EAST LIVERPOOL OHIO. IT IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT
50 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL BECOME SEVERE AS IT ENTERS
BEAVER COUNTY AROUND 430 PM. IT WILL MOVE INTO BUTLER COUNTY BEFORE
5 PM.
 
THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE WINDS AT OR ABOVE 50 MPH...HAIL...AND HEAVY
RAI!N.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN OCCASIONALLY PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 10:45 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningPBZButler3 hr
Feb 16, 5:10 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZArmstrong65 min
Feb 16, 5:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZWestmoreland63 min
Feb 16, 5:48 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZWashington49 min
Feb 16, 5:48 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZIndiana49 min
Feb 16, 6:37 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZClearfield, Jefferson53 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.