Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 138, NWS Cleveland, OH

July 19, 1996Crawford County, Pennsylvania

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this flash flood warning at Jul 19, 1996, 8:58 AM EDT for Crawford County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 19, 1996, 8:58 AM EDT (12:58 UTC)
Expired
Jul 19, 1996, 11:00 AM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Cleveland, OH
Area
Whole counties

County Crawford County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:01 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 142 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 1996-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1573 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 1996-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 259 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1573 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.1
Supercell composite
10.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCLE 191301
FFWCLE
PAC039-191500-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
858 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CLEVELAND HAS EXTENDED
THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...CRAWFORD COUNTY
 
MAJOR FLOODING CONTINUED ACROSS PORTIONS OF CRAWFORD COUNTY THIS MORNING
FROM EARLIER RAINS. THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY REPORTED THAT
NUMEROUS BRIDGES WERE WASHED OUT AND A NUMBER OF STATE HIGHWAYS WERE
EITHER WASHED OUT OR UNDER WATER THIS MORNING. ALSO OVER 100 BASEMENTS
WERE FLOODED AND SOME BASEMENT WALLS CAVED IN.
 
AT 9AM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN CLEVELAND SHOWED SHOWERS DEVELOPING
ACROSS NORTHEAST OHIO AND MOVING TOWARD EXTREME SOUTHWEST CRAWFORD
COUNTY.  THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DROPPED BETWEEN 4 AND 5 INCHES
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY EARLIER THIS MORNING HAVE MOVED
SOUTHEAST TOWARD CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.
 
ANY ADDITIONAL SHOWER ACTIVITY...COMBINED WITH RUNNOFF FROM THE EARLIER
RAINS WILL HELP TO SUSTAIN FLOODING INTO LATE MORNING.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR L
OW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
 
 
 
&

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

Local storm report, Jul 19, 6:28 AM EDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OHIO
618 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1257 AM                              OH   .75 INCH HAIL
07/19/96   ASHTABULA                      HAIL WAS WEST OF ANDOVER.

0138 AM    AUBURN CENTER             OH   WIND DAMAGE
07/19/96   GEAUGA                         ONE TREE DOWN.
 0210 AM    PAINESVILLE               OH   FLOODING
07/19/96   LAKE                           ONE ROAD FLOODED.

0300 AM    SPRINGFIELD STATION       PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   ERIE                           ONE ROAD HAD A FOOT OF
                                          WATER ON IT.

0315 AM    LINESVILLE                PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   CRAWFORD                       BASEMENT FLOODING.

0415 AM    LINESVILLE                PA   WIND DAMAGE
07/19/96   CRAWFORD                       SEVERAL LARGE LIMBS DOWN.

0440 AM                              PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   CRAWFORD                       MAJOR FLOODING ACROSS THE
                                          COUNTY WITH NUMEROUS ROADS
                                          CLOSED AND BASEMENTS
                                          FLOODED. MANY CREEKS ALSO
                                          IN FLOOD.

0440 AM    LINESVILLE                PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   CRAWFORD                       3.5 INCHES OF RAIN FELL
                                          BETWEEN 115 AM AND 440 AM.

0505 AM                              PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   ERIE                           CREEK IN HARBOR CREEK IN
                                          FLOOD.

N0524 AM                              PA   FLOODING
07/19/96   CRAWFORD                       WATER WAS WAIST DEEP IN A
                                          LOW SPOT IN CONNEAUTVILLE.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 6:34 AM EDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before
OHZ012>014-023-PAZ001>003-191200-
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
630 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR
LAKE...GEAUGA...ASHTABULA AND TRUMBULL COUNTIES IN OHIO AND ERIE AND
CRAWFORD IN NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA HAS EXPIRED.

HEAVY RAINFALL WAS THE MAIN PROBLEM FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS DURING
THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AND SOME FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT.

JUST BEFORE 1 AM DIME TSIZE HAIL OCCURRED IN CHERRY VALLEY...WEST OF
ANDOVER IN ASHTABULA COUNTY.

AT 0138 AM A TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN IN AUBURN TOWNSHIP OF SOUTHERN
GEAUGA COUNTY.

AT 415 AM SEVERAL BRANCHES DOWN IN LINESVILLE.

KIELTYKA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 19, 1:37 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLEErie2 hr
Jul 19, 2:14 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLECrawford2 hr
Jul 19, 3:41 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLECrawford49 min
Jul 19, 4:09 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLECrawford, Erie3 hr
Jul 19, 4:43 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLECrawford2 hr
Jul 19, 6:53 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLECrawford2 hr
Jul 19, 11:04 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLECrawford4 hr
Jul 19, 3:48 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLEErie3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

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.