Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 98, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 15, 1997, 7:29 PM EDT for Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 66 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 15, 1997, 7:29 PM EDT (23:29 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 1997, 8:35 PM EDT
- In force
- 66 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Clearfield County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:11 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 7:42 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Du Bois, PA | Trees were blown down just northeast of Dubois. |
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, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 152 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
- 802 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -66 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 987 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -16 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -48 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 152328 RRA SVRCTP PAC033-160035- BULLETIN- IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 729 PM EDT TUE JUL 15 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 835 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA ...CLEARFIELD COUNTY AT 728 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR 14 MILES WEST OF CLEARFIELD OR IN THE VICINITY OF LUTHERSBURG MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. THE STORM WILL PASS NEAR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... SABULA BY 728 PM EDT CHESTNUT GROVE BY 735 PM EDT S.B. ELLIOT STATE PARK BY 800 PM EDT CURWENSVILLE BY 805 PM EDT WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. DO NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS. NICOSIA
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 15, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 59 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 230 PM EDT TUE JUL 15 1997 ...ZONE SUGGESTIONS... PHL...RECOMMEND 30 POP FOR SUSQ VAL FOR EVE. WITH A 95 OVER 68 WED SHD NOT VERIFY HEAT WARNING IN LWR SUSQ SO OK TO DROP FOR TOM. PIT...THINK TEMPS WED TOO LOW E OF MTNS. NEED UP 80S E OF MTS LOM ON MTS. THINK LWR SUSQ VAL NEEDS M90S WED. ...DISCUSSION... CU FRMG RPDLY AS OF NOON LDT. PIT SOUNDING IS QUITE UNSTABLE WITH -4 LI 33 K INDEX. MODIFIED SOUNDING GOES TO -6 LI AND 34 K INDEX. MODIFIED CAPE VALUE IS 1933 J/KG. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW CAPE VALUES UP TO 2300J/KG OVR SUSQ VAL AT 0Z WED. THERE ARE 2 FOCAL POINTS FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION AND THEY ARE THE USUAL LAKE BREEZE CONVERGENCE AREA AND THE RIDGES FRM E WV INTO LAURELS AND S CENTRAL MTNS OF PA. CU LOOKS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN YDY. YDY CU LOOKED RAGGED WHILE TODAY CU HAS VERY WELL DEFINED TURRETS INDICATING LO LVL CAP IS ALREADY BREAKING. QUESTION MARK IS THE HIGHER LEVEL INVERSION AROUND 500MB. INITIAL SOUNDING SHOWS AN ISOTHERMAL LAYER FROM 500MB UP TO ABOUT 475MB. THERE APPRS TO BE ENUF ENERGY BELOW THAT LEVEL TO POP PAST THIS BUT AS TIME GOES BY LOW LEVEL WINDS BECOME DIVERGENT AND AFTER 0Z IT IS OVR FOR THE MTNS. OVR THE SUSQ VAL THE WINDS ARE FEEBLE AT BEST IN LOW LEVELS BUT AT LEAST THERE IS A PROPER PROFILE FOR CONVECTION THRU 6Z WED. GIVEN CAPE VALUES OVR 2000...LEE SIDE/THERMAL TROF OVR THE REGION UNTIL 6Z WED...AND CFROPA (FOR WHAT ITS WORTH) AROUND THE SAME TIME THERE IS A DECENT SHOT AT CONVECTION OVER THE SUSQ VAL E THRU LANCASTER AND SCHUYKILL COUNTIES AS WELL. THE LIMITING FACTOR HERE IS HOW MUCH HOT AIR WILL ADVECT E FROM THE ELEVATED HEATING SURFACES TO THE WEST. THIS CAN CAP CONVECTION AND KEEP CU TO JUST 1 TO 2 THOUSAND FEET THICK. MY EXPERIENCE IN NEW MEXICO WAS THAT THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR AND CAN EITHER DELAY OR STIFLE CONVECTION ENTIRELY. TRAJ SHOW AIRMASS FOR WED IS OVR OH AND IN TDY. DEWPTS ARE 66 TO 69 DEGREES OVR THAT AREA. FWC SHOWS NUMBERS STILL IN 90S FOR WED SO PITZFP NEEDS TO BE BUMPED UP E OF MTNS. WUD SUGGEST M 90S FOR LWR SUSQ WED. AGREE WITH PHL THAT COOLING AND DRYING WILL BE SLOWER COMING IN. WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR FRI NITE OR SAT FOR NEXT MEANINGFUL CFROPA. SO HEAT WAVE CONTINUES UNTIL THEN IN SUSQ VAL AND HOT SPOTS LIKE SO VALS E OF MTNS. PHL...THX FOR COORD. HEAD HEAD
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 15, 4:15 PM EDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
415 PM EDT TUE JUL 15 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0235 PM NORTH WARREN PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 WARREN NUMEROUS TREES AND WIRES
DOWN NEAR RTE 62
0300 PM YOUNGSVILLE PA 1 INCH HAIL
07/15/97 WARREN
0300 PM NORTH WARREN PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 WARREN TREE DAMAGE
0345 PM BRADFORD PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 MCKEAN TREE DOWN ON CAR, STRONG
WINDSLocal storm report, Jul 15, 4:16 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
415 PM EDT TUE JUL 15 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0235 PM NORTH WARREN PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 WARREN NUMEROUS TREES AND WIRES
DOWN NEAR RTE 62
0300 PM YOUNGSVILLE PA 1 INCH HAIL
07/15/97 WARREN
0300 PM NORTH WARREN PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 WARREN TREE DAMAGE
0345 PM BRADFORD PA WIND DAMAGE
07/15/97 MCKEAN TREE DOWN ON CAR, STRONG
WINDSThe office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 2:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | McKean, Warren | 60 min |
| Jul 15, 3:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Elk, Warren | 60 min |
| Jul 15, 3:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | McKean | 62 min |
| Jul 15, 4:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Elk | 64 min |
| Jul 15, 5:13 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Elk | 62 min |
| Jul 15, 5:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Elk | 62 min |
| Jul 15, 5:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cameron | 65 min |
| Jul 15, 6:20 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Elk, McKean | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 6:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield | 66 min |
| Jul 15, 7:02 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre | 63 min |
| Jul 15, 7:27 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre, Clinton | 63 min |
| Jul 15, 7:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Huntingdon | 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.