Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS State College, PA

November 7, 1997Elk County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Nov 7, 1997, 4:50 PM EST for Elk County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 5 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 7, 1997, 4:50 PM EST (21:50 UTC)
Expired
Nov 7, 1997, 9:45 PM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Elk County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 166 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 12:00Z on 1997-11-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1997-11-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 56 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
505 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 072151 RRA
FFWCTP
PAC009-013-021-033-047-055-057-061-111-080245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
450 PM EST FRI NOV 7 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  945 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S...
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...BEDFORD COUNTY...BLAIR COUNTY...CAMBRIA COUNTY
   ...CLEARFIELD COUNTY...ELK COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY...FULTON COUNTY
   ...HUNTINGDON COUNTY...SOMERSET COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING. MANY SPOTS ACROSS
SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA HAVE HAD OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN...WITH A FEW
SPOTS PICKING UP OVER 3 INCHES.
 
MINOR FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED OVER MUCH OF THE REGION.  ADDITIONAL
RAIN WILL RESULT IN MORE FLOODING.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QxUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
MARTIN
 
&

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Nov 7, 1:51 PM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 7, 1:51 PM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
150 PM EST FRI NOV 7 1997

...ZONE SUGGESTIONS...

.PIT...GOOD CALL ON WATCH YEST...LOTS OF PRECIP YET TO COME SO WUD
LEAVE PRETTY MUCH WELL ALONE.

.PHL...GOOD CALL IN CONFINING R+ TO AREAS WEST OF YR CWA. WUD STICK
WITH OCNL R-/L- INTO SUN AM AT LEAST.

...DISCUSSION...

THE RAIN IS FALLING...THE WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE FLYING. NOW TO
FIGURE OUT WHEN IT WILL ALL WIND DOWN.

ETA AND NGM CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG DEEP EASTERLY FETCH AND
RESULTING POTENT LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ON THE NOSE OF THIS LLJ.
BEST PRECIP SEEMS TO BE FALLING IN TERRAIN FAVORED UPSLOPE
LOCATIONS ON THE FACE OF THE LAURELS WHERE NEARLY 3 INCHES HAS
FALLEN IN SPOTS PROMPTING SEVERAL FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS.

STERLING RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW LONG TRAIN OF STRONG ECHOES FROM
CHESAPEAKE BAY UP INTO CENTRAL MTNS. THIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG
MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AXIS AS SEEN ON SFC ANAL AND PSU MESO DATA
PAGE. SYNOPTIC ETA DEPICTS STRONG LOW LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS IN THIS
REGION WHICH IT PIVOTS UP AND OVER CTRL PA THRU TONITE WHILE
BEGINNING A WEAKENING TREND AFTER 00Z. THINK BEST PRECIP WILL START
TO WANE AS LOW LEVEL WIND MAX PROPAGATES INLAND AND WE LOSE THE
STRONG CONVERGENCE. THIS SHUD BEGIN TO TAKE PLACE AFTER 00Z WITH
REAL WEAKENING SHOWING UP AFTER 06Z.

WE DON'T GET OUT OF THE WOODS JUST YET AS UPPER LOW WILL STILL BE
PRONE TO DRAGGING BACK ATLANTIC MOISTURE INTO CTRL PA. FOCUS OF
BEST RAIN SHUD SHIFT NORTHWARD WHERE BEST INFLOW OFF OCEAN
CONCENTRATES BUT ETA DUMB BELLS ANOTHER SFC WAVE BACK TWD PA COAST
SAT NITE-SUN MORNING. THE FRONTOGENESIS SHOWN ON THE NW QUAD OF
THIS SYSTEM MAY FORCE SLUG OF MORE ENHXANCED PRECIP BACK INTO ERN
SECTIONS LATER SAT AND EARLY SUN.

LA CORTE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 7, 11:53 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford6 hr
Nov 7, 12:23 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria6 hr
Nov 7, 12:48 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair6 hr
Nov 7, 2:12 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPSomerset6 hr
Nov 7, 4:50 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Somerset5 hr
Nov 7, 4:50 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton, Huntingdon5 hr
Nov 7, 5:39 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.