Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996
Flash Flood Warning 38, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at May 9, 1996, 1:00 AM EDT for Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 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
- May 9, 1996, 1:00 AM EDT (05:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 1996, 4:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Somerset County, PA
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:59 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 00:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 103 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
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -64 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 603 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 155 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 090502 FFWCTP PAC111-090800- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 100 AM EDT THU MAY 9 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING FOR STREAMS AND CREEKS EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...SOMERSET COUNTY AT 1 AM EDT... DOPPLER RADARS FROM PITTSBURGH AND STATE COLLEGE SHOWED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUING TO WORK ACROSS NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY. THE HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO LAST UNTIL ABOUT 3 AM AND WILL CAUSE SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS TO FLOOD IN SOME AREAS OF SOMERSET COUNTY. SOMERSET COUNTY EMERGENCY PERSONNEL REPORTS THAT ROUTE 160 IN WELLERSBURG NEAR THE MARYLAND LINE IS CLOSED DUE TO WATER ON THE ROADWAY. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLOODS. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO ESCAPEn FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING. 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 May 8, 9:05 PM EDT, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 8, 9:05 PM EDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 905 PM EDT WED MAY 8 1996 00Z SURFACE ANAL SHOWS LOW PRESSURE CENTER OVER SOUTHWEST OHIO WITH WARM FRONT EAST ACROSS OHIO THEN SOUTHEAST INTO WVA AS MOIST AIR GETS PUSHED UP INTO WESTERN PA WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. CTP 88D HAS BEEN TRACKING THE OVER RUNNING RAIN AND DRIZZLE THAT HAS MOVED ACROSS SOUTHERN PA THIS EVENING AND CONTINUES TO MOVE PROGRESSIVELY EAST ACROSS THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. CONCUR WITH PHL FORECAST FOR THE PRECIP ACROSS THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA. SATELLITE SHOWS THE MCS THAT HAS RACED SOUTHEAST ACROSS INDIANA AND OHIO JUST ENTERING WVA. QUESTION WILL BE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REMAINING CONVECTION OVER OHIO AS IT TRACKS EAST INTO WHAT IS MORE STABLE AIR. SEE NO REASON TO DROP THE MENTION OF THUNDER IN THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF WESTERN PA AS LONG AS THE THERE ARE STILL STRONG RETURNS ON THE PBZ 88D. DUNHAM
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 7:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Warren | 76 min |
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.