Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 52, NWS State College, PA

November 8, 1997Franklin County, Fulton County, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Nov 8, 1997, 8:55 AM EST for Franklin County, Fulton County, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 2 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, 8:55 AM EST (13:55 UTC)
Expired
Nov 8, 1997, 11:00 AM EST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 135 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 12:00Z on 1997-11-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 12:00Z on 1997-11-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 313 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
453 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
304 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 081404
FFWCTP
PAC009-013-021-033-055-057-061-111-081600-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
855 AM EST SAT NOV 8 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS EXTENDED THE
FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS UNTIL 1100 AM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS.
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...BEDFORD COUNTY...BLAIR COUNTY...CAMBRIA COUNTY
   ...WESTERN CLEARFIELD COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY...FULTON COUNTY
   ...HUNTINGDON COUNTY...SOMERSET COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAINS HAVE DIMINISHED TO LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE THIS MORNING.
BUT...RECENT HEAVY RAINS HAVE PRODUCED MANY FLOODED ROADWAYS AND CAUSED
SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS TO OVERFLOW THEIR BANKS. AS A RESULT... FLOOD
WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL FLOOD WATERS CAN RECEDE OR UNTIL 11 AM.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
WINTHER
 
&

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 8, 3:08 AM EST, 5 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 8, 3:08 AM EST, 5 hours 47 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
300 AM EST SAT NOV 8 1997

ALREADY HAD EXTENSIVE PHONE COORD WITH PHI AND PIT AS PER FORECAST
FOR THE MORNING.

HEAVIEST RAIN HAS NOW EXITED THE CTP CWA INTO PIT AREA.  ANOTHER
BATCH OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN DEVELOPING IN THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA
VALLEY ATTM.

UPPER LEVEL LOW HAS REMAINED NEARLY STATIONARY DURING THE LAST 12
HOURS...AND HAS SET UP A STEADY-STATE EASTERLY FLOW OF MOISTURE OFF
THE ATLANTIC INTO SOUTHERN PA.  LOW LEVEL TROF/CONVERGENCE ZONE HAS
FOCUSED HEAVIEST RAIN ACROSS THE SOUTH CENTRAL MTS AND LAUREL
HIGHLANDS.

IF WE BELIEVE THE MODELS THIS MORNING...THE LOW LEVEL JET WILL
FINALLY SHIFT NORTHWARD TODAY.  ACTUALLY...JET AND FORCING WILL
ROTATE DURING THE DAY...CHANGING THE ORIENTATION OF PCPN FROM E-W
OVER SOUTHERN PA TO A NE SW ORIENTATION LATER TODAY.  THIS WAS
SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...BUT UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM
DID NOT MOVE.  WV IMAGRY STILL NOT INDICATING ANY MOVEMENT OF THE
UPPER CIRCULATION...SO TODAYS MODELS AGAIN MAY BE TOO FAST MOVING
PCPN OUT.

THEREFORE DISCOUNT PALTRY NGM PCPN NUMBERS...AND SUGGEST AT LEAST
ANOTHER .50 INCHES IN LOWER JUNIATA RIVE(R.  FFA SHOULD BE CONTINUED
INTO MORNING AS THEY STAND.

JUNG

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, 12:48 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPPerry3 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 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.