Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 31, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Sep 6, 1996, 7:12 PM EDT for Cumberland County, Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 63 min. 3 reports 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
- Sep 6, 1996, 7:12 PM EDT (23:12 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 6, 1996, 8:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Cumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 7:12 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | New Germantown, PA | |
| Sep 6, 7:20 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Mc Crea, PA | |
| Sep 6, 7:45 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | New Germantown, 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
Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 134 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
- 65 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -103 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 674 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 154 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 195 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 062311 TORCTP PAC041-099-070015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 712 PM EDT FRI SEP 6 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...CUMBERLAND COUNTY...PERRY COUNTY AT 710 PM...RADAR INDICATED A POSIBLE TORNADO NORTH OF GREEN SPRING IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY. THE STORM WILL MOVE TO NEAR GERMANTOWN IN PERRY COUNTY BY 730 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 RO*OM 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 Sep 6, 2:12 PM EDT, 5 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 2:12 PM EDT, 5 hours before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 215 PM EDT FRI SEP 6 1996 CURRENT THINKING ON FRAN SIMILAR TO THIS AM...TRACKING TOWARD W PA. ONLY DIFFERENCE IS SOME DfRY AIR TRYING TO ENTER CIRCULATION ...MAY CUT DOWN ON PCPN FOR SOME AREAS...ESP W AREAS. PIT...F.Y.I. COUPLE OF TREES DOWN ON MT. DAVIS. CURRENT FCST/WATCHES/WARNINGS OK FOR NOW. NO NEW MODELS IN YET. MARTIN
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 6, 6:06 PM EDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
PAZ024>028-033>036-056-063>066-062300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - TORNADO WATCH EXPIRES NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 604 PM EDT FRI SEP 6 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH EXPIRES... THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND PORTIONS OF THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY HAS EXPIRED AS OF 600 PM. ALTHOUGH THE REMNANTS FROM FRAN WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...THE THREAT OF TORNADOES HAS ENDED. JUNG
Special weather statement, Sep 6, 6:22 PM EDT, 50 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>036-045-049-050- 056-063-070400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 620 PM EDT FRI SEP 6 1996 ...HIGH WIND WARNINGS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA... HIGH WIND WARNINGS ARE NOW IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. THE HIGH WIND WARNINGS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: WARREN... MCKEAN... POTTER... ELK... CAMERON... CLEARFIELD... CENTRE... CLINTON... CAMBRIA... BLAIR... HUNTINGDON... MIFFLIN... JUNIATA... SOMERSET... BEDFORD... FULTON... FRANKLIN... UNION... SNYDER... PERRY... AND CUMBERLAND. HIGH WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE FRAN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING. THE WINDS WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME DAMAGE...ESPECIALLY TO TREES AND POWER LINES. HIGHEST WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND RIDGES. JUNG
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 4:08 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Bedford, Somerset | 6 hr |
| Sep 6, 4:08 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Franklin, Fulton | 6 hr |
| Sep 6, 5:51 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Adams | 4 hr |
| Sep 6, 5:51 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Blair, Huntingdon | 4 hr |
| Sep 6, 6:51 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Cumberland, Juniata, Perry | 4 hr |
| Sep 6, 6:51 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Mifflin | 4 hr |
| Sep 6, 7:07 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Adams | 3 hr |
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.