Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1997, 1:57 PM EDT for Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 63 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 3, 1997, 1:57 PM EDT (17:57 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 1997, 3:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lycoming County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:00 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 3, 2:45 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Williamsport, PA | Thunderstorm winds took down trees and powerlines in Williamsport. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 222 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
- 579 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 449 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 454 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 031757 RRA SVRCTP PAC081-031900- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 157 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 300 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN PENNSYLVANIA ...LYCOMING COUNTY AT 2 PM A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED FROM CEDAR RUN SOUTHWARD TO LOCK HAVEN AND STATE COLLEGE. THIS LINE WILL REACH WILLIAMSPORT BY 230 PM. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DON'T USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
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 3, 12:36 PM EDT, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 12:36 PM EDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1235 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997 ...DISCUSSION... WILL FOCUS ON SHORT-TERM INTO THE ERLY EVE. SCTD TSRA WORKG INTO C-PA FROM WRN PA. LINEAR ROLL-LIKE CONVECTION BREAKING OUT IN ASSCTN WITH DRYING AND COOLING ALOFT WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE UPR LVL PV MAX TO THE E. AT THIS TIME THE CONVECTION WAS ORIENTED WITH THE MEAN SHEAR IN THE CONVECTIVE CLOUD LAYER. THE SHEAR IS QUITE STRG AS PER KPBZ AND KCCX 88D/S VWPS. THE CAPES PROBABLY ARE NOT HIGH ENUF YET TO BALANCE THE INTENSE SHEAR... THUS CONVECTION WAS LEANING OVR DOWNSHEAR FORMING THE ROLLS. WE HAVE TO WATCH THE BNDRY IS SET UP OVR C-PA IN THESE FLO PATTERNS. THE FLO OVR ERN PA IS SSE WITH PLENTY OF LOW CLDS WHILE W-PA IS MORE SW IN ASSCTN WITH MASS ADJUSTMENTS AHEAD OF THE UPR WV AND MORE MIXING. A WELL-DEFINED PRE-COLD FRONTAL TROF WAS PRESENTLY WORKG ACRS WRN PA WHICH WAS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE SWRLY LOW-LVL FLO OF WELL-MIXED AIR. AS THIS BNDRY WORKS INTO C-PA... TSRA WILL CONT TO SPREAD INTO C-PA. ALTHOUGH CAPE IS LOW STILL RECEIVED A WIND GUST REPORTS TO 51 KTS JUST W OF JST. SMALL LOW-TOPPED CONVECTION TAPPING HIGH WINDS ARND 5 KFT. WE ARE MONITORING RADAR CLOSELY. WE WILL HV TO ESPECIALLY WATCH WHEN THESE LINEAR ROLL CONVECTIVE STRUCTURES WORK E AND INTERSECT THE MORE S-SE FLOWING LOW-LVL AIR MASS OVR C/ERN PA. WHEN THIS OCCURS WE MAY SEE CONVECTIVES CELLS TAKE OFF. COMPARISON OF KPBZ AND KCCX VWPS AT 1615 UTC SHOWS THE DIFFERENCES IN THE LOW-LVL SHEAR PROFILES ACRS THE CLR/CLDY LINE/BNDRY OVR C-PA. AMS WAS BREAKING OUT INTO SWRN PA AS WELL... AOO AT 70/58!! SOMEWHAT HIER DWPTS CONTINUALLY STREAMING INTO SERN PA TOO W/ ENHANCE SRLY FLO. THUS... I EXPECT HIER CAPES ACRS C/SERN PA TOO. TIME ACVTY INTO SUS VLLY MIDDLE AFTERNOON... BTWN 2 AND 4 PM. MOST ACVTY E OF SUS VLLY EARLY EVE HOURS. THINK A BKN LN OF STRG TRW WILL ORGANIZE INTO A SQUALL LINE ACRS ERN PA WITH SOME BOW ECHOES. NICOSIA
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 3, 11:00 AM EDT, 2 hours 57 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-040200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT--THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 11 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. LOW PRESSURE...OVER OHIO LATE THIS MORNING...WILL MOVE INTO NEW YORK STATE BY THIS EVENING. A TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...PRODUCING THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL WEATHER SOURCE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES. FITZGERALD
Special weather statement, May 3, 11:05 AM EDT, 2 hours 52 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-040200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT--THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 11 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. LOW PRESSURE...OVER OHIO LATE THIS MORNING...WILL MOVE INTO NEW YORK STATE BY THIS EVENING. A TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...PRODUCING THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. R STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL WEATHER SOURCE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES. FITZGERALD
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre, Clinton | 64 min |
| May 3, 3:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Adams, Cumberland, York | 59 min |
| May 3, 3:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield | 55 min |
| May 3, 3:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Bedford, Blair, Cambria | 62 min |
| May 3, 4:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Juniata, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder | 60 min |
| May 3, 4:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Dauphin | 60 min |
| May 3, 4:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia | 56 min |
| May 3, 4:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon | 66 min |
| May 3, 4:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Potter, Tioga | 56 min |
| May 3, 4:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lycoming | 64 min |
| May 3, 4:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Schuylkill | 66 min |
| May 3, 6:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | York | 68 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.