Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 125, NWS State College, PA

August 4, 1997Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 1997, 5:47 PM EDT for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 33 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
Aug 4, 1997, 5:47 PM EDT (21:47 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 1997, 6:20 PM EDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Cumberland County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 4, 6:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Carlisle, PAWinds took down trees and powerlines just south of Carlisle.

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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 126 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1997-08-04Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1997-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 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
1323 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

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 severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 4, 12:47 PM EDT, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 12:47 PM EDT, 5 hours before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1245 PM EDT MON AUG 4 1997

...SUGGESTIONS...

CURRENT FCST LOOK OK...BUT WOULD PREFER NO SHOWERS FOR PIT ZNS
AFT TUE MORNING.  JUST CHECKED RADAR AGAIN...MAY NEED SOME
THUNDER IN MOST AREAS TILL EARLY EVENING.

...DISCUSSION...

SITUATION SIMILAR TO SETUP ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO WHEN A TOR HIT RIC
VA.  MAIN THING TODAY...IS PARAMETERS NOT PHASING.

MOST AREAS GOT SOME NICE GENTLE RAIN.  TIMING SUCH NOT TO FAVOR
SEVERE FOR C PA.  ECHOES NOW TURNING MORE E-NE...LOOKS LIKE PIVOT
POINT OVER C VA...BUT UNLIKELY SE PA CAN RECOVER...GIVEN
CLDS...DESPITE FAIRLY HI DEWPTS...THUS WOULD NOT EXPECT SEVERE.

NY AND W PA NOW SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE WITH AFT HEATING.  STORMS SO
FAR ARE NOT REAL BIG...SO SMALL HAIL NOT LIKELY...BUT WILL HAVE
TO WATCH.

SOME ACTION LIKELY TO LINGER OVERNIGHT AND INTO TUE AM...AS
COMPLEX WX PATTERN COMES TOGETHER.  BEST CHC OF TUE AM SHOWERS
WILL BE NE PA.  HARD TO SEE MUCH DURING THE AFT...ESP. W AND C
PA.

WILL NOT BE IN A BIG RUSH TO CLEAR SKIES OUT IN TAFS.

COULD BE A WET DAY TUE FOR THE COASTAL AREAS...ESP. NEW ENGLAND.

RECORD COLD LIKELY TUE NIGHT AND WED NIGHT?

MRARTIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 5:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, York61 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1997Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.