Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 81, NWS State College, PA

July 9, 1997Bedford County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 1997, 1:10 PM EDT for Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 65 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
Jul 9, 1997, 1:10 PM EDT (17:10 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1997, 2:15 PM EDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Bedford County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:11 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 9, 1:15 PM EDTHail 0.75Riddlesburg, PA

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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 144 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 1997-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1997-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -45 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-199 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1039 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 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 091708 RRA
SVRCTP
PAC009-091815-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
110 PM EDT WED JUL 9 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 215 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

   ...BEDFORD COUNTY
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM NEAR RIDDLESBURG AT 1 PM.  THIS STORM WILL
SLOWLY MOVE TO THE EAST.

THE STORM MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINS.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR YOUR
PROTECTION MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  HEAVY RAINS
FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY.  DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROAD.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR YOUR
PROTECTION MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  HEAVY RAINS
FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY.  DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROAD.

GRUMM

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 Jul 9, 9:25 AM EDT, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 9:25 AM EDT, 3 hours 45 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
920 AM EDT WED JUL 9 1997

.SUGGESTIONS...
NO CHANGES....

.DISCUSSION...
12Z SFC ANALYSIS PLACES COLD FRONT OVER NW PA JUST E OF ERI WITH
SFC LOW ALONG FRONT IN S NY. FRONT TO PUSH THRU UNV AREA ARND
MIDDAY THEN INTO SUS VALLEY BY EARLY AFTN. WITH CLD COVER AND
DEWPTS IN THE LOW/MID 60S EXPECT CONVECTION WILL BE SLOW TO START
ACROSS CWA.

CONVECTION SHOULD REFIRE ALONG FRONT EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND MAY
CLIP OUR E CWA WITH SVR. NE PA A FAVORABLE AREA FOR SVR WITH RR
QUAD OF 3H JET OVERHEAD AND 70 DEWPTS ADVECTING NORTHWARD.

FCST 7H RH PROGS SHOW DRY AIR MOVING INTO FCST/A LATE TONIGHT AND
SFC HIGH PRESSURE SETTLING INTO PA ON THU.

WINTHER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 9, 11:04 AM EDT, 2 hours 6 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-
049>053-056>059-063>066-092200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1105 AM EDT WED JUL 9 1997

...A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA SAYS THERE IS A
SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MIDDLE AND LOWER
SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS
AFTERNOON WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANYING IT.
AS THE FRONT ENTERS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON
THE THUNDERSTORMS...BUOYED BY MID SUMMER H2EAT AND
HUMIDITY...COULD BECOME SEVERE.
SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY.

WINTHER
Special weather statement, Jul 9, 11:05 AM EDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-
049>053-056>059-063>066-092200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1105 AM EDT WED JUL 9 1997

...A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA SAYS THERE IS A
SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MIDDLE AND LOWER
SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS
AFTERNOON WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANYING IT.
AS THE FRONT ENTERS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON
THE THUNDERSTORMS...BUOYED BY MID SUMMER HEAT AND
HUMIDITY...COULD BECOME SEVERE.
SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY.

WINTHER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 1:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPHuntingdon63 min
Jul 9, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFulton55 min
Jul 9, 4:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin64 min
Jul 9, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams60 min
Jul 9, 4:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster55 min
Jul 9, 4:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPYork66 min
Jul 9, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster65 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.