Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 7, NWS State College, PA

July 19, 1996Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 19, 1996, 4:48 AM EDT for Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 57 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 19, 1996, 4:48 AM EDT (08:48 UTC)
Expired
Jul 19, 1996, 5:45 AM EDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Clearfield County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:50 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, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 152 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 1996-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 70 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 1996-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 223 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
70 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-108 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
681 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
429 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 Jul 19, 1:43 AM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 1:43 AM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
138 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

CLUSTER OF STORMS OVER LAKE ERIE...THINK WORSE WILL BE ACROSS
EXT. N PA INTO NY...AS THIS IS WHERE BEST HEIGHT FALLS ARE.
JUST LIKE LAST SUMMER WITH ABNORMAL DEWPTS.

ONCE THIS GOES BY...STRONG NVA WORKS IN.  E NY...NE PA...AND
NEW ENGLAND COULD GET HIT HARD WITH FROPA...AS FRONT WOULD COME
IN AT MAX HEATING.  IN REGARD TO FIRST VORT MAX...IT COULD STILL
BE A PROBLEM FURTHER EAST...AROUND NOONTIME...BUT AIRMASS IS NOT
AS UNSTABLE OUT THERE...SO ADV/HEATING WILL HAVE TO DO ITS THING
THIS AM.

ANYWAY A VERY DANGEROUS SIT...DONT RECALL SUCH A FCST OF A
DEEPENING LOW IN MID SUMMER.
8
AFTER THIS EVENING...LOOKS LIKE JUST CLEAR...COOL...AND WINDY.

PHI/PIT CAN KEEP FLOOD WATCH UP/MODIFY AREA IF YOU WANT...AS IT
IS ALREADY UP.  SOMEONE MIGHT GET A HEAVY STORM ONE WAY OR
ANOTHER.

MARTIN

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 19, 1:00 AM EDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010-011-191000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1257 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWESTERN
PENNSYLVANIA UNTIL 600 AM EDT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 AM EDT FOR WARREN... MCKEAN... CAMERON... POTTER AND
ELK COUNTIES IN NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION
WILL QUICKLY MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA
OVERNIGHT.  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED IN THESE
COUNTIES WHERE THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

REMEMBER THAT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR DAMAGING STORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.  REMAIN
ALERT AND HAVE SAFE SHELTER CLOSE BY IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR
THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED.

MICHAUD
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 4:48 AM EDT, 0 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-191450-

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

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
PENNSYLVANIA UNTIL 10 AM...

THE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRE...CLINTON...SOMERSET
BEDFORD...CAMBRIA...FRANKLIN...HUNTINGDON...JUNIATA
MIFFLIN...BLAIR...CAMERON...CL8EARFIELD...AND FULTON COUNTIES.

THE WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE IN AND CLOSE TO THE
WATCH AREA.  LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING IS
POSSIBLE WITH SOME STORMS.

MARTIN

The office that day

Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 19, 4:35 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClearfield5 hr
Jul 19, 5:09 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair, Cambria66 min
Jul 19, 5:09 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre66 min
Jul 19, 5:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBlair, Cambria66 min
Jul 19, 5:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre66 min
Jul 19, 5:26 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPHuntingdon64 min
Jul 19, 5:56 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair, Cambria3 hr
Jul 19, 6:03 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPHuntingdon3 hr
Jul 19, 6:26 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPHuntingdon64 min
Jul 19, 6:35 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPJuniata, Mifflin3 hr
Jul 19, 7:37 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton4 hr
Jul 19, 7:37 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford4 hr
Jul 19, 9:19 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClearfield3 hr
Jul 19, 10:58 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair3 hr
Jul 19, 10:58 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClearfield7 hr
Jul 19, 11:06 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield54 min
Jul 19, 11:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield51 min
Jul 19, 11:15 AM EDTTornado WarningCTPClearfield30 min
Jul 19, 11:27 AM EDTTornado WarningCTPBlair, Cambria48 min
Jul 19, 11:55 AM EDTTornado WarningCTPBlair50 min
Jul 19, 11:59 AM EDTTornado WarningCTPCambria61 min
Jul 19, 12:08 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPHuntingdon67 min
Jul 19, 12:30 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPBlair45 min
Jul 19, 12:36 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPMifflin39 min
Jul 19, 12:46 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair, Huntingdon3 hr
Jul 19, 12:46 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria3 hr
Jul 19, 12:53 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPBedford52 min
Jul 19, 12:59 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPFranklin, Huntingdon61 min
Jul 19, 1:17 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPCumberland58 min
Jul 19, 1:28 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Fulton4 hr
Jul 19, 1:28 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin4 hr
Jul 19, 1:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFulton55 min
Jul 19, 1:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford63 min
Jul 19, 1:47 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPAdams58 min
Jul 19, 1:55 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton65 min
Jul 19, 2:31 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPAdams59 min
Jul 19, 2:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPYork54 min
Jul 19, 5:31 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Somerset4 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.