Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1991

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Cleveland, OH

May 13, 1991Cameron County, Elk County, Pennsylvania

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this flash flood warning at May 13, 1991, 2:51 PM EDT for Cameron County, Elk County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 13, 1991, 2:51 PM EDT (18:51 UTC)
Expired
May 13, 1991, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Cleveland, OH
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cameron County, PA, Elk County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 168 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 1991-05-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 1991-05-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1762 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 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 KERI 131851
FFWERI
PAC047-023-132200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
FLASH FLOOD WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE PA
251 PM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF PENNSYLVANIA
      SOUTHERN ELK...SOUTHERN CAMERON

AT 245 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY
EAVY RAINFALL OVER SOUTHERN ELK COUNTY WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS
NEAR WEEDVILLE IN ELK COUNTY.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE
EAST AT ABOUT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS 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 TO HIGHER GROUND.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED IMMEDIATELY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS FLOODING IS IMMINENT.  IT IS IMPORTANT TO
KNOW WHERE YOU ARE IN RELATION TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR CREEKS THAT
CAN BECOME DEADLY WHEN SWOLLEN BY HEAVY RAIN.

 RR

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, May 13, 11:49 AM EDT, 3 hours 2 minutes before
OHZALL-141200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR OHIO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1155 AM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

THE NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS FORECAST CENTER IN KANSAS CITY SAYS THAT
THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST OHIO
TODAY AND TONIGHT.

MORAVEK
Special weather statement, May 13, 1:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
PAZ001-002-003-131900
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE, PA
103 PM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

...THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN
PENNSYLVANIA...

DURING THE PAST HOUR ERIE WEATHER RADAR SHOWED RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS IN PARTS OF WARREN...MCKEAN...POTTER AND ELK COUNTIES IN
NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA.

THESE STORMS ARE LIKELY TO PRODUCE VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND EXCESSIVE
LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.

DUE TO AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS THE DISTRICT...THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY
TO CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA AND THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...
THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

SANDSTROM/WELLS
Special weather statement, May 13, 2:14 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
PAZ002-003-004-132000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE, PA
204 PM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE CONTINUING ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA
AND THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...

AT 2 PM ERIE WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN PARTS OF WARREN...
MCKEAN...POTTER...ELK AND CAMERON COUNTIES IN PENNSYLVANIA.  THE STORMS WERE
MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR.

SOME OF THESE STORMS ARE PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN THAT MAY CAUSE SOME FLOODING
OF LOWLANDS AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS...EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME
HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.

PERSONS SHOULD KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER...AS THESE STORMS
SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

SANDSTROM/WELLS/REEDY
Special weather statement, May 13, 2:26 PM EDT, 25 minutes before
OHZALL-DDHHMM-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
225 PM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLE HAIL WAS DEVELOPING
OVER NORTHEAST OHIO THIS AFTERNOON. AT 210 THIS AFTERNOON CLEVELAND
WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS
DEVELOPING ALONG A LAKE BREEZE FRONT THAT WAS FROM NORWALK TO
AKRON TO NEW CASTLE PENNSYLVANIA.

THE OHIO LAKESHORE COUNTIES SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH OF CLEVELAND
SHOULD BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AS THE THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOP AND MOVE SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THOMPSON
Special weather statement, May 13, 2:41 PM EDT, 10 minutes before
OHZ004-PAZ003-132000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE YOUNGSTOWN OH
240 PM EDT MON MAY 13 1991

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING OVER NORTHEASTERN OHIO AND
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON.

AT 230 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED ALONG A LINE
BETWEEN CANTON-AKRON AND YOUNGSTOWN. THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO SCATTERED
IN MERCER AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES IN PENNSYLVANIA.

SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE PRODUCING HEAVY DOWNPOURS. HAIL IS
ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

PEOPLE IN THE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS CAN EXPECT BRIEF PERIODS
OF VERY HEAVY RAIN... STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND LIGHTNING.

NICK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 13, 4:24 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLELawrence2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1991Every flash flood warning in 1991

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.