Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1995
Flash Flood Warning 71, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Oct 21, 1995, 4:34 AM EDT for 5 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 21, 1995, 4:34 AM EDT (08:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 21, 1995, 8:30 AM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Mifflin County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:35 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 151 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 294 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 561 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 324 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 210835 FFWCTP PAC055-057-061-067-087-211230- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 434 AM EDT SAT OCT 21 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...FRANKLIN COUNTY...FULTON COUNTY...HUNTINGDON COUNTY ...JUNIATA COUNTY...MIFFLIN COUNTY AT 430 AM STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED HEAVY RAINS CONTINUING TO MOVE NORTH OUT OF MARYLAND OVER THE REGION. 3 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED IN LOCATIONS SINCE RAIN BEGAN EARLIER LAST EVENING...WITH MORE HEAVY RAINS YET TO MOVE OVER THE AREA. THE HEAVY RAINS WILL CAUSE FLOODING PROBLEMS IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHO ULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. LA CORTE/NICOSIA &
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.
NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Oct 21, 2:37 AM EDT, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 21, 2:37 AM EDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 235 AM EDT SAT OCT 21 1995 STRONG COLD FRONT FROM IPT SOUTH TO JUST WEST OF MDT AT 2AM. LARGE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN OVER CNTRL PA AT THIS TIME IN RESPONSE TO STRONG FRONTOGENETIC FORCING. NOSE OF 55+ KT LOW LEVEL JET NOW PUSHING INTO SRN NY WITH CTRL PA IN LEFT ENTRANCE REGION OF LL JET. STRONG AGEOSTROPHIC COMPONENT OF FLOW ACROSS LLJ MAKING FOR INTENSE LOW LEVEL WIND AND MOISTURE CONVERGENCE OVER AREA. THIS SITS NICELY UNDER STRONG DIVERGENCE ALOFT COURTESY OF NEGATIVE TILT TROF AND STRONG EVACUATION OCCURRING DUE TO JET SPLITTING AS IT MAKES TURN THRU TROF BASE. MARGINAL INSTABILITY CAUSING EMBEDDED CONVECTION WHICH ISN'T HURTING SYSTEM'S PRECIP MAKING ABILITY...SEEN SEVERAL FLASHES OF LTG OUT WINDOW HERE AT CTP. EARLIER CONCERN WAS FOR POSSIBILITY OF SYSTEM TAPPING STRONG WINDS JUST ABOVE BOUNDARY LAYER AND MIXING THEM DOWN IN CONVECTION BUT THIS DOESN'T SEEM TO BE HAPPENING. INITIAL GUSTY WINDS WITH FRONT HAVE CALMED DOWN SOMEWHAT AS WELL. HAD 2.5" OF RAIN HERE AT CTP. RADAR INDICATING 3.9" IN ELK CTY. CORRELATION BETWEEN RADAR AND GAGES KIND OF ERRATIC. SOME RADARA ESTIMATES SEEM PRETTY CLOSE TO GAGES BUT OTHERS SHOWING BIG DISCREPANCIES. WOULD THINK A SYSTEM LIKE THIS WOULD BE UNDERCOOKED A BIT. LA CORTE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 20, 10:45 PM EDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-210745- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - WINDS/RAIN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1045 PM EDT FRI OCT 20 1995 ...HIGH WIND WARNINGS FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND LAUREL HIGHLANDS HAVE EXPIRED... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MARCH ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA OVERNIGHT. ALTHOUGH THE FRONT WILL STILL PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH...THE DAMAGING WINDS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNING TREES AND POWER LINES OVER PORTIONS OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA EARLIER TONIGHT HAVE DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY. RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL SLOWLY TAPER OFF ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA OVERNIGHT...BUT LAST INTO SATURDAY MORNING ACROSS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. THE RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES...AND CAUSE PONDING OF WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. JUNG
Special weather statement, Oct 20, 10:46 PM EDT, 5 hours 48 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-210745- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - WINDS/RAIN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1045 PM EDT FRI OCT 20 1995 ...HIGH WIND WARNINGS FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND LAUREL HIGHLANDS HAVE EXPIRED... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MARCH ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA OVERNIGHT. ALTHOUGH THE FRONT WILL STILL PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH...THE DAMAGING WINDS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNING TREES AND POWER LINES OVER PORTIONS OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA EARLIER TONIGHT HAVE DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY. RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL SLOWLY TAPER OFF ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA OVERNIGHT...BUT LAST INTO SATURDAY MORNING ACROSS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. THE RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES...AND CAUSE PONDING OF WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. JUNG
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 8:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield, Elk | 57 min |
| Oct 21, 1:27 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Clearfield, Elk | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 4:22 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Centre, Clinton | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 4:28 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Lancaster, Lebanon, York | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 4:40 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Cameron, Potter | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 4:40 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Lycoming, Tioga | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 4:55 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Blair | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 5:11 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Snyder, Union | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 5:38 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Schuylkill | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 6:09 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Adams, Cumberland | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 6:09 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Dauphin, Perry | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 6:15 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Columbia, Sullivan | 4 hr |
| Oct 21, 6:15 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Montour, Northumberland | 4 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1995Every flash flood warning in 1995
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.