Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 162, NWS State College, PA

September 7, 1996Juniata County, Mifflin County, Perry County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 7, 1996, 3:45 AM EDT for Juniata County, Mifflin County, Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 4 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
Sep 7, 1996, 3:45 AM EDT (07:45 UTC)
Expired
Sep 7, 1996, 8:00 AM EDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Juniata County, PA, Mifflin County, PA, Perry County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 174 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1996-09-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1996-09-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 156 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1036 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 070749
FFWCTP
PAC041-067-087-099-071200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
345 AM EDT SAT SEP 7 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S...
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...CUMBERLAND COUNTY...JUNIATA COUNTY...MIFFLIN COUNTY
   ...PERRY COUNTY
 
RUNOFF FROM PREVIOUS RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE FLOODING ACROSS THE
REGION THROUGH 8 AM THIS MORNING. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES A BAND OF 4 TO
6 INCHES OF RAIN FELL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MIFFLIN AND
JUNIATA COUNTIES AND THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF PERRY AND CUMBERLAND
COUNTIES.
 
A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE STILL POSSIBLE BUT THE RUNOFF FROM THE
EARLIER HEAVIER RAINFALL IS THE REAL THREAT THIS MORNING.
 
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT 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 UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
GRUMN

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 Sep 7, 2:48 AM EDT, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 7, 2:48 AM EDT, 57 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
230 AM EDT SAT SEP 7 1996

AT 06Z THE SFC LOW (REMNANT OF FRAN) WAS JUST S OF PITTSBURGH
...WITH SEVERAL TROUGHS EXTENDING OUT OF THE LOW CENTER...ONE
SIGNIFICANT TROUGH EXTENDED NWED ACROSS CNTRL PA...THE HEAVIEST
RAIN BANDS ON THE KCCX RADAR ARE N AND E OF THIS BROAD TROF.

BASED ON OUR HOURLY ANALYSIS THE LOW SHOULD BE CLOSE TO ERIE AT 8
AM.  THIS SHOULD CUT OFF THE HEAVY RAIN ACROSS SRN AND SERN
SECTIONS OF THE STATE.  GOES-8 WV LOOP SHOWS STRONG DRY SLOT MVG
INTO PA FROM THE SOUTH...THIS SHOULD SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISH THE
RAINFALL OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING.  GOES-8 IR LOOP SHOWS A
BROAD AREA OF LOW CLOUDS OVER VA AND MD IMPLYING PA WILL REMAIN
CLOUDY.

THE MODELS APPEAR TO BE SLOW AND TOO FAR EAST WITH THE SFC LOW
COMPARED TO OUR ANALYSES.  PUTTING THE LOW IN NWRN MOST PA BY 8
AM SUGGESTS THAT THE BEST POPS AFT 8 AM WILL BE OVER THE NRN TIER
COUNTIES AND NWD INTO NY.  ELSEWHERE LL S/SERLY FLOW REMAINS IN
PLACE MOST OF THE DAY SAT...IMPLYING SCT -SHRA ACTIVITY AND LOW
CLOUDS.  SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS ARE FCST TO MOVE INTO SRN MTS LATE
IN AFTN...SKIES MAY GO BKN LATE IN DAY.

THE WEAK S/W OVER THE SERN US WILL BRING SOME MORE MID LEVEL
MOISTURE AND A POTENTIAL SRC OF LIFT FOR SCT AFTN SHWRS INTO ERN
SECTIONS SAT AFTN.

CLOUDS WILL SLOWLY BREAK UP OVERNIGHT SAT INTO SUNDAY FROM W TO
E.  HOWEVER...WE WILL REMAIN IN THE SEMI-TROPICAL AIRMASS SUNDAY.
THE WESTERLY WINDS AND LACK OF ANY SIGNIFICANT BOUNDARIES SHOULD
KEEP THE CHC OF SHOWERS LOW...IF ANY SHWR ACTIVITY IS MENTIONED
IT WOULD BE IN THE AFTN.

A COLD FRONT SHOULD SWEEP THROUGH THE REGION ON MONDAY.

GRUMM

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 7, 12:45 AM EDT, 3 hours before
PAZ049-050-056-063-071000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- HIGH WIND WARNING CANCELLATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1240 AM EDT SAT SEP 7 1996

...HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

THE HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR UNION... SNYDER
... CUMBERLAND AND PERRY COUNTIES. THE THREAT OF HIGH WINDS IN THESE
COUNTIES IS OVER. WINDS WILL AVERAGE AROUND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH HIGHER
GUSTS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS IN THESE COUNTIES.

NICOSIA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 6, 8:45 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria, Clearfield4 hr
Sep 6, 8:45 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre4 hr
Sep 6, 9:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Perry, Snyder6 hr
Sep 6, 9:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, York6 hr
Sep 6, 9:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPHuntingdon, Mifflin6 hr
Sep 6, 10:02 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Franklin, Fulton4 hr
Sep 6, 10:02 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPSomerset4 hr
Sep 6, 10:02 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair4 hr
Sep 6, 11:31 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClinton, Union4 hr
Sep 7, 12:31 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre5 hr
Sep 7, 1:45 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Blair, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon6 hr
Sep 7, 1:45 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPSomerset6 hr
Sep 7, 3:45 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland4 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.