Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 11, 1996, 3:51 PM EDT for Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 34 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, 3:51 PM EDT (19:51 UTC)
- Expired
- May 11, 1996, 4:25 PM EDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
- Area
- Whole counties
County Berks County, PA
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:04 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 3:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Eastern Third, 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, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 206 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 KPHL 111950 SVRPHL PAC011-112025- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHILADELPHIA/MOUNT HOLLY NJ 351 PM EDT SAT MAY 11 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHILADELPHIA/MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 425 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...BERKS COUNTY AT 345 PM...A WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND WINDS TO 50 MPH IN READING. THE STORM PRODUCING THIS SEVERE WEATHER WAS MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA. REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH OR NO ADVANCED WARNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...THE VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...OR TO COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION. IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHER OR FLOODING...CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND HAVE THEM RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORT ON TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN WINDS GREATER THAN 58 MILES AN HOUR... DIME SIZE HAIL OR LARGER...VERY HEAVY RAINS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. FRANKLIN &
The office that day
Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 3:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Lehigh | 47 min |
| May 11, 4:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Monroe | 50 min |
| May 11, 5:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Bucks | 50 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1996Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.