Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

July 22, 1990Butler County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 22, 1990, 6:57 PM EDT for Butler County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 63 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
Jul 22, 1990, 6:57 PM EDT (22:57 UTC)
Expired
Jul 22, 1990, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties

County 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
Jul 22, 7:15 PM EDTTornado F0Butler, 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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 58 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 1990-07-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6 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 1990-07-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
609 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
82 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 222257
TORPIT
PAC019-230000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
657 PM EDT SUN JUL 22 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM EDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...BUTLER COUNTY
 
AT 655 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM IN WESTERN BUTLER
COUNTY. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED IN WESTERN BUTLER COUNTY NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF ROUTE 422 AND ROUTE 19. TAKE COVER. IT WILL MOVE INTO
THE MORAINE STATE PARK AREA SHORTLY.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 8:48 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZFayette, Greene2 hr
Jul 22, 4:18 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZAllegheny, Butler102 min
Jul 22, 5:31 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZBeaver59 min
Jul 22, 5:58 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZButler62 min
Jul 22, 6:38 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZClearfield67 min
Jul 22, 7:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZClarion66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.