Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 31, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 19, 1997, 4:36 PM EDT for Warren County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 69 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 19, 1997, 4:36 PM EDT (20:36 UTC)
- Expired
- May 19, 1997, 5:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 69 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Warren County, PA
The radar
The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 134 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:39 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 19, 5:00 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Wrightsville, PA | Trees down. |
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
Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 133 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 493 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 222 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
335 WUUS01 KCTP 192038 RRA SVRCTP PAC123-192145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 436 PM EDT MON MAY 19 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 545 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...WARREN COUNTY AT 430 PM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER EASTERN ERIE COUNTY. THE STORM IS RACING EAST AT 50 MPH...AND WILL MOVE ACROSS SPRING CREEK BY 445 PM...AND LOTTSVILLE BY 450 PM...AND WILL BE NEAR WARREN AND RUSSELL BY 5 PM. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. DM
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 May 19, 2:09 PM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 2:09 PM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 205 PM EDT MON MAY 19 1997 PIT/PHL...TRW (POSSIBLE SVR) FOR THE EVENING HOURS. COLD FRONT APPROACHING NW OH ATTM. DEWPTS AHEAD OF FRONT WELL INTO THE 60S WITH TEMPS IN THE UPPER 70/LOW 80S. LI'S ACROSS OH IN THE RANGE OF -4 TO -6. EXPECT LINE OF TRW TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF FRONT LATER THIS AFTN AS AIRMASS CONTINUES TO DESTABLIZE. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING ALONG RIDGES IN E KY/WV. IF ACTIVITY DEVELOPS THIS AFTN IT WILL MOST LIKELY BE ACROSS EXTREME S OR E CWA WHERE BEST HEATING AND TOPOGRAPHY MAY HELP TO POP TSTM'S. PW'S VALUES INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HVY DOWNPOURS. SHOWERS AND TSTMS ENDING ACROSS W PA BY MIDNIGHT AND ACROSS E PA DURING THE EARLY MORNING HRS. MODELS THEN BRING A SLUG OF DRY AIR INTO FCST/A ON TUES. MAY START OUT WITH SOME AM CLDS AND VALLEY FOG BUT SHOULD BECOME MOSTLY SUNNY BY AFTN. TUESDAY NIGHT...5H TROF DEEPENS OVER AREA. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE (COMBINATION OF NW FLOW FROM ERI AND MOISTURE UNDER SUBSIDENCE INVERSION) SLIDES SOUTH INTO AREA TUE EVE. MAY WANT TO MENTION MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES N PA AND PTLY CLOUDY SOUTH. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A FEW SHOWERS (30 POPS) OVER N PA LATE TUE NIGHT. WEDNESDAY...UPPER LEVEL COLD LOW JUST N OF FCST/A WILL KEEP MUCH OF N PA IN THE CLOUDY COOL WEATHER. COLD TEMPS ALOFT WILL PRODUCE SOME AFTN INSTABILITY SO A MENTION OF SHOWERS (30 POPS) MAY BE PRUDENT ACROSSA N PA. LOWER SUS SHOULD SEE PTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. ENJOY! WINTHER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 19, 11:10 AM EDT, 5 hours 26 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-192300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1110 AM EDT MON MAY 19 1997 ...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER SAYS THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION LATE HIS AFTERNOON...AND CROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. AS A RESULT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE... WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT IN THE MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING. WINTHER
Special weather statement, May 19, 11:11 AM EDT, 5 hours 25 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-192300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1110 AM EDT MON MAY 19 1997 ...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER SAYS THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION LATE HIS AFTERNOON...AND CROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. AS A RESULT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE... WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT IN THE MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS. SKYWARN SEPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING. WINTHER
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 9:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Somerset | 60 min |
| May 19, 5:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | McKean | 55 min |
| May 19, 6:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield, Elk | 67 min |
| May 19, 6:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cameron | 29 min |
| May 19, 6:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clinton | 56 min |
| May 19, 6:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre | 65 min |
| May 19, 6:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cambria | 58 min |
| May 19, 7:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lycoming | 56 min |
| May 19, 7:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Blair | 61 min |
| May 19, 7:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Sullivan | 64 min |
| May 19, 7:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Montour, Northumberland, Union | 64 min |
| May 19, 7:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Huntingdon, Mifflin | 59 min |
| May 19, 7:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Juniata, Snyder | 55 min |
| May 19, 7:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia | 64 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.