Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 1, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at May 11, 1996, 3:17 PM EDT for Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 43 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 11, 1996, 3:17 PM EDT (19:17 UTC)
- Expired
- May 11, 1996, 4:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Schuylkill County, PA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado F1 | Pottsville, PA |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 220 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
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -182 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1606 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -23 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 23 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 111917 TORCTP PAC107-112000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 317 PM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...SCHUYLKILL COUNTY AT 310 PM EDT DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A ROTATING THUNDERSTORM NEAR SHENANDOAH WHICH COULD BE PRODUCING A TORNADO. A SPOTTER REPORTED ONE AND 1/2 INCH HAIL IN THE STORM IN MT CARMEL AND THE STORM WAS ROTATING. THE STORM WILL MOVE EAST TO NEAR MAHONOY CITY BEFORE 330 PM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 11, 10:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 11, 10:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1015 AM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996 FLOOD WATCHES LOOK GOOD. 12Z SURFACE ANAL SHOWED THE FRONT EXTENDING FROM BGM SOUTHWEST TO PIT WITH A WEAK LOW CENTER JUST SOUTHWEST OF PIT. HEAVY RAIN TRACKING OUT OF OHIO INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF PA. YNG HAD .95 IN PAST 6 HOURS IN FAVORABLE LOCATION TO THE EAST OF THE UPPER SHORT WAVE AND JUST NORTH OF THE WEAK SURFACE LOW. WE ALSO HAD A SKYWARN REPORT OF RAIN OF .80 IN KANE SINE 7 AM. RAIN SHOULD CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EAST AND NORTHEAST BEHIND THE FRONT AS THE UPPER WAVE MOVES EAST OUT OF OHIO. CTP RADAR DOWN AWAITING PART. DUNHAM
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 11, 10:43 AM EDT, 4 hours 34 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1042 AM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996
TIME EDT ...CITY LOCATION..........ST ...EVENT/REMARKS
...COUNTY LOCATION........
0956 AM LUDLOW PA FLOOD
05/11/96 WARREN STREAM FLOODING ALONG
RTE 6 NEAR LUDLOW
1038 AM SHEFFIELD PA FLOOD
05/11/96 WAR\REN BASEMENTS BEING PUMPED
IN SHEFFIELD.
DUNHAMSpecial weather statement, May 11, 11:46 AM EDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before
PAZ056>059-063>066-112300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1145 AM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996 THE STORMS PREDICTION CENTER IN KANSAS CITY SAYS THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA INCLUDING THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL CROSS PENNSYLVANIA TODAY...REACHING THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY LATE IN T\HE AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT WILL TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN STRONG WINDS AND HAIL. SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORKS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED LATER TODAY OR THIS EVENING. JUNG
Special weather statement, May 11, 2:37 PM EDT, 40 minutes before
PAZ037-041-042-046-049>053-056>059-063>066-120000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 230 PM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM FOR THE MIDDLE AND LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY...AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN TIER OF PENNSYLVANIA. THE COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE: TIOGA... LYCOMING... SULLIVAN... UNION... SNYDER... NORTHUMBERLAND... MONTOUR... COLUMBIA... SCHUYLKILL... PERRY... CUMBERLAND... DAUPHIN... LEBANON... ADAMS... YORK AND LANCASTER. A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE STATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE OVER THE MIDDLE AND LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE< FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER...AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. JUNG
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 8:55 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Warren | 3 hr |
| May 11, 12:40 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Elk, McKean, Warren | 5 hr |
| May 11, 12:40 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Cameron, Potter | 5 hr |
| May 11, 1:48 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Tioga | 4 hr |
| May 11, 1:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Juniata, Snyder | 54 min |
| May 11, 2:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Franklin | 59 min |
| May 11, 2:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Adams, Cumberland | 56 min |
| May 11, 2:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Perry | 56 min |
| May 11, 2:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Northumberland | 58 min |
| May 11, 2:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Dauphin, York | 87 min |
| May 11, 2:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia, Schuylkill | 61 min |
| May 11, 2:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster, Lebanon | 94 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.