Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 3, NWS State College, PA

June 18, 1997Juniata County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jun 18, 1997, 6:18 PM EDT for Juniata County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 42 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
Jun 18, 1997, 6:18 PM EDT (22:18 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 1997, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Juniata County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 18, 6:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Reeds Gap, PAA couple of trees were blown over on the mountain 2W of Reeds Gap.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 18, 5:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 1997-06-18Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°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 1997-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 99 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
644 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 182217 RRA
TORCTP
PAC067-182300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
618 PM EDT WED JUN 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  700 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...JUNIATA COUNTY
 
AT 615 PM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF NOOK AND
WILL BE OVER SOUTH OF MC COYSVILLE BEFORE 630 PM.
 
RADAR SUGGESTS THAT THIS STORM COULD BE PRODUCING A TORNADO AT
THIS TIME.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTHER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
GRUMM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 2:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield, Elk68 min
Jun 18, 2:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCameron65 min
Jun 18, 3:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Clinton68 min
Jun 18, 3:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield48 min
Jun 18, 3:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford62 min
Jun 18, 4:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre69 min
Jun 18, 5:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Fulton59 min
Jun 18, 5:09 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre, Clearfield3 hr
Jun 18, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMcKean, Potter61 min
Jun 18, 5:38 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPFranklin67 min
Jun 18, 5:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBlair, Huntingdon57 min
Jun 18, 7:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams51 min
Jun 18, 7:41 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.