Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996
Flash Flood Warning 233, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Dec 13, 1996, 12:39 PM EST for Lycoming County, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 5 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
- Dec 13, 1996, 12:39 PM EST (17:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 13, 1996, 6:00 PM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lycoming County, PA, Sullivan County, PA
The radar
The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:38 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
Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 222 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 519 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 189 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 199 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 131743 FFWCTP PAC081-113-132300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1239 PM EST FRI DEC 13 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING FOR STREAMS AND CREEKS EFFECTIVE UNTIL 6 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...LYCOMING COUNTY...SULLIVAN COUNTY DOPPLER RADAR FROM STATE COLLEGE SHOWED AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN WORKING NORTHWARD INTO LYCOMING AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS CONCENTRATED IN TWO NORTH TO SOUTH BANDS... ONE BAND WAS ACROSS THE WILLIAMSPORT AREA AND ANOTHER CLOSE TO RTE 220 IN SULLIVAN COUNTY. THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN EXTENDED SOUTH ACROSS THE LOWER AND MIDDLE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY REGIONS AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK NORTH INTO LYCOMING AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN LIKELY WILL LAST MOST OF THE AFTERNOON CAUSING FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS... CREEKS... POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND SOME ROADWAYS. 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 SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. 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 Dec 13, 10:03 AM EST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 13, 10:03 AM EST, 2 hours 36 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTION TO FFS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 10 AM EST FRI DEC 13 1996 PIT...CORD TO UPDATE WATCH AREAS. PHL...WRKZFP LOOK GOOD. BAND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE PRECIP MOVING NORTH OVER CENTRAL PA ATTM. THIS ACTIVITY IS AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING OCCLUDED TYPE FRONT. WV IMAGERY SHOWS SECOND SHRTWV OVER N CAROLINA ROUNDING BASE OF NEG TILT TROF AND THIS WILL ENHANCE PRECIP ACROSS E PA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO FLOODING PROBLEMS SO FAR...RAIN HAS BEEN FALLING AT STEADY RATE (ARND.10/HR) FOR THE PAST 12 HRS. HOWEVER...WITH SECOND WAVE PROGGED TO MOVE INTO AREA...HRLY RATES SHLD DOUBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF E PA LATER THIS AFTN. FLOOD WATCH TO CONTINUE E OF CENTRE COUNTY. ...LAKE SNOW OUTLOOK... FRI NOON TO FRI 7PM...N... FRI 7PM TO SAT 7AM...N... SAT 7AM TO SAT 7PM...N... WINTHER
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 11:56 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 11:56 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Adams, York | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 12:17 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Juniata, Northumberland, Snyder, Union | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 12:17 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Montour | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 1:15 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Huntingdon | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 2:23 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Lancaster, Lebanon | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 3:09 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Columbia, Schuylkill | 6 hr |
| Dec 13, 5:54 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Cumberland, Dauphin, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder | 3 hr |
| Dec 13, 5:54 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Lycoming, Union | 3 hr |
| Dec 13, 5:54 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Adams, York | 3 hr |
| Dec 13, 5:54 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Sullivan | 3 hr |
| Dec 13, 5:54 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Montour | 3 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.