Tornado Warning 10, NWS State College, PA

Issued

Jul 19, 1996, 11:55 AM EDT (15:55 UTC)

Expired

Jul 19, 1996, 12:45 PM EDT

In force

50 min

Issued by

NWS State College, PA

Area

Whole counties

County Blair County, PA

The State College radar (KCCX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:01 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.

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.

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 191555
TORCTP
PAC013-191645-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1155 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS EXTENDED THE
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...BLAIR COUNTY
 
AT 1150 AM EDT STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONGLY ROTATING
THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHWEST BLAIR COUNTY WEST OF BELLWOOD. THIS STORM
COULD VERY WELL CONTAIN A TORNADO. THE STORM CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTHEAST
AT 40 MPH AND WILL CROSS EAST OF ALTOONA NEAR CANOE CREEK STATE PARK
BEFORE 1215 PM.
 
THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN BLAIR COUNTY NORTH AND
EAST OF ALTOONA SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACHES.
 
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.

NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 19, 9:44 AM EDT, 2 hours 11 minutes earlier.

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
945 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

ZONE SUGGESTIONS...
...PIT/PHL...COLD FRONT WILL LIKELY TRIGGER ANOTHER ROUND OF
CONVECTION. SHOULD BE MORE OF A SEVERE THREAT THAN PAST 24HRS.
THINK BEST THREAT WILL BE SE SXNS.

...DISCUSSION...
OVERNIGHT HEAVY RAINS ARE A HUMBLING REMINDER OF THE POWER OF THE
MCS. ACTIVITY FIRED LATE IN DAY OVER WISCONSIN AND BLEW UP TO AN
MCS AS CROSSED LAKES INTO NRN PA. ACTIVITY WINDING DOWN RAPIDLY
LEAVING BEHIND A HUMID AIRMASS WAITING FOR THE COLD FRONT TO CRASH
INTO IT.

COLD FRONT WILL BE PASSING THROUGH DURING MAX HEATING FOR MOST
LOCATIONS. SHUD SEE RESPECTABLE AMOUNT OF SUN TODAY AS COMPENSATING
SUBSIDENCE BEHIND MCS DRIES US OUT AT LEAST TEMPORARILY. COLD FRONT
WILL BE HEADING INTO FAIRLY UNSTABLE VERY HUMID AIRMASS BUT AT
LEAST A COUPLE OF FACTORS WILL BE WORKING AGAINST WIDESPREAD
SEVERE. BIGGEST PLAYER WILL BE VERY WARM MID LEVEL TEMPS. NEXT
FACTOR WILL BE WESTERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS. POSITIVE FACTORS WILL BE
DEVELOPING LEFT EXIT REGION OF JET MOVING DOWN OVER REGION ON TOP
OF AT LEAST SOME MEASURE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE. STRONG
P-VORT MAX DROPPING SE ACROSS REGION SHOULD AID IN SYNOPTIC SCALE
LIFT AHEAD OF FRONT. WUD DRAW LINE FROM ABOUT IPT TO AOO WITH BEST
CHC SEVERE SE OF THE LINE. MESO AND SYNOPTIC ETA PAINT LI/SSI'S IN
THE SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE RANGE...HOLDING BEST INSTABILITY BACK IN OHIO
VALLEY. W`ESTERLY LOW LEVEL JET FCST TO EXCEED 40KT. WINDS ARE
WESTERLY IN LOW LEVELS BUT FCST TO NW UP TO 500MB. GOOD SHEAR
PROFILES FOR ANYTHING THAT DOES MANAGE TO FIRE.

LA CORTE

In the hours before

PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>05
3-056>059-063>066-191600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1015 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 804 FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
HAS BEEN CANCELED.  THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS
DIMINISHED FOR THE TIME BEING.

ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE
AFTERNOON ACROSS THE~ REGION.  SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORKS MAY NEED
TO BE REACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON.

HEAD

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.