Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS State College, PA

November 8, 1997Perry County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Nov 8, 1997, 12:48 AM EST for Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 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 8, 1997, 12:48 AM EST (05:48 UTC)
Expired
Nov 8, 1997, 3:45 AM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Perry County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 161 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1997-11-08Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1997-11-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 392 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
514 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
392 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
563 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 080550
FFWCTP
PAC099-080845-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1248 AM EST SAT NOV 8 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 AM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...PERRY COUNTY
 
AT 1245 AM...COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT SOME FLOODING
IN PERRY COUNTY DUE TO THIS EVENINGS HEAVY RAIN. SPECIFICALLY...THE
INTERSECTION OF ROUTES 850 AND 274 IN THE TOWN OF GREEN GATES IS CLOSED
DUE TO FLOODING OF BIXLERS RUN.
 
RAIN WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...AND ADDITIONAL FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS
AND STREAMS CAN BE EXPECTED.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
JUNG
 
&
 ~

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, 5:46 PM EST, 7 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 7, 5:46 PM EST, 7 hours 2 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
545 PM EST FRI NOV 7 1997

...ZONE SUGGESTIONS...

PIT/PHL...SEE BELOW.

...DISCUSSION...

WILL GET THIS OUT EARLY.  SEVERAL REPORTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OF
RAIN...WITH MINOR FLOODING.

USE RADAR DATA WITH CAUTION.

SENT OUT QPS...BASED ON HEAVY RAIN ROTATING AND LIFTING NORTHWARD
THROUGH SAT AFT.  RFC/S ADJUST AS YOU SEE FIT.

WSFO/S...CALL IF SIG. CHANGES..*.MAIN THING...LETS KEEP IT SIMPLE.

MARTIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCameron, Clearfield6 hr
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Fulton6 hr
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin6 hr
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria, Somerset6 hr
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair, Huntingdon6 hr
Nov 7, 9:37 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland6 hr
Nov 8, 3:40 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Huntingdon5 hr
Nov 8, 3:40 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Perry5 hr
Nov 8, 3:40 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPSomerset5 hr
Nov 8, 5:22 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPLancaster4 hr
Nov 8, 8:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton, Huntingdon2 hr
Nov 8, 8:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBlair, Cambria, Clearfield2 hr
Nov 8, 8:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Somerset2 hr
Nov 8, 10:50 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield3 hr
Nov 8, 10:50 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPFulton, Huntingdon3 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.