Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

September 6, 1990Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Sep 6, 1990, 6:29 PM EDT for Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 61 min. 4 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: Sep 6, 1990, 6:29 PM EDT (22:29 UTC)
Expired: Sep 6, 1990, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Whole counties

County Westmoreland 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
Sep 6, 6:30 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Westmoreland, PA
Sep 6, 6:40 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Westmoreland, PA
Sep 6, 7:00 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Westmoreland, PA
Sep 6, 7:20 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Westmoreland, 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 55 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 58 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -206 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 691 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 68 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 062230
TORPIT
PAC129-062330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
629 PM EDT THU SEP 6 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM EDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...WESTMORELAND COUNTY
 
AT 628 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN NORTHERN WESTMORELAND
COUNTY MOVING SOUTHEAST...AND IT WILL PASS NEAR DERRY...BETWEEN
BLAIRSVILLE AND LATROBE.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMA6LL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 6, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Butler, Clarion	85 min
Sep 6, 4:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong	100 min
Sep 6, 5:06 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	PBZ	Butler	54 min
Sep 6, 5:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland	77 min
Sep 6, 5:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Indiana, Jefferson	77 min
Sep 6, 5:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Cambria, Clearfield, Indiana	98 min
Sep 6, 5:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette, Greene	98 min
Sep 6, 5:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	98 min
Sep 6, 6:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	PBZ	Somerset	69 min
Sep 6, 6:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Bedford, Blair	64 min

Nearby

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