Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 101, NWS New York, NY

August 16, 1997Richmond County, New York

NWS New York, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 1997, 5:13 PM EDT for Richmond County, New York. It was in force for 77 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 1997, 5:13 PM EDT (21:13 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
77 min
Issued by
NWS New York, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Richmond County, NY

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:14 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 16, 3:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 113 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, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 1997-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1064 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, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 1997-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 147 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
1064 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-71 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
834 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
147 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
5.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNYC 162116 RRA
SVRNYC
NYC005-047-061-079-081-085-119-NJZ017-162230-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
513 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM EDT
FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST NEW YORK
 
   ...BRONX COUNTY...KINGS COUNTY...NEW YORK COUNTY
   ...PUTNAM COUNTY...QUEENS COUNTY...RICHMOND COUNTY
   ...WESTCHESTER COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY
 
   ...HUDSON COUNTY
 
AN AREA OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO HUDSON COUNTY OF NEW
JERSEY AND PUTNAM...WESTCHESTER...AND INTO NEW YORK CITY BY 530 PM.
THESE STORMS ARE MOVING QUICKLY AT 40 MPH AND HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCINDAMAGING WIND GUSTS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND HAIL.
 
THESE ARE DANGEROUS STORMS. IF YOU ARE IN THEIR PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 16, 3:36 PM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND
WEATHER MAP DISCUSSION FOR EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK...
NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
336 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 1997

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK...NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY AND
FAIRFIELD AND NEW HAVEN COUNTIES OF SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT UNTIL 9PM...

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY FOR THE
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY METRO AREAS TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...

THE LEADING EDGE OF HOT...HAZY AND HUMID AIR...A WARM FRONT MOVED
NORTH OF THE REGION OVERNIGHT. THIS PUT THE TRI-STATE REGION IN A
TROPICAL AIRMASS. AS MIGHT BE EXPECTED WITH A TROPICAL AIRMASS...
IT WAS HOT AND MUGGY.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD FORMED ACROSS INTERIOR NEW YORK AND
PENNSYLVANIA. SOME OF THESE STORMS HAD VERY STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND
LARGE HAIL. ADDITIONALLY ALL OF THEM HAD PRODUCED COPIOUS LIGHTNING.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT ACROSS MOST OF THE TRI-STATE
THROUGH 9PM. CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM.

DEW POINTS...WHICH ARE A MEASURE OF ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY...WILL BE IN
THE MID 70S AGAIN ON SUNDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S ACROSS
MOST OF THE REGION. THIS WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES ANYWHERE FROM
95 TO 105 DEGREES SUNDAY AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT HEAT INDEX VALUES WONT
BE MUCH BELOW 80 DEGREES.

REMEMBER THAT THUNDERSTORMS...EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT SEVERE ARE STILL
DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTNING THEY PRODUCE. USE COMMON SENSE
AND GET IN OUT OF THE RAIN IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN A THUNDERSTORM.

WOOLDRIDGE
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 3:38 PM EDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND
WEATHER MAP DISCUSSION FOR EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK...
NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
336 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 1997

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK...NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY AND
FAIRFIELD AND NEW HAVEN COUNTIES OF SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT UNTIL 9PM...

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY FOR THE
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY METRO AREAS TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...

THE LEADING EDGE OF HOT...HAZY AND HUMID AIR...A WARM FRONT MOVED
NORTH OF THE REGION OVERNIGHT. THIS PUT THE TRI-STATE REGION IN A
TROPICAL AIRMASS. AS MIGHT BE EXPECTED WITH A TROPICAL AIRMASS...
IT WAS HOT AND MUGGY.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD FORMED ACROSS INTERIOR NEW YORK AND
PENNSYLVANIA. SOME OF THESE STORMS HAD VERY STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND
LARGE HAIL. ADDITIONALLY ALL OF THEM HAD PRODUCED COPIOUS LIGHTNING.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT ACROSS MOST OF THE TRI-STATE
THROUGH 9PM. CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM.

DEW POINTS...WHICH ARE A MEASURE OF ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY...WILL BE IN
THE MID 70S AGAIN ON SUNDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S ACROSS
MOST OF THE REGION. THIS WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES ANYWHERE FROM
95 TO 105 DEGREES SUNDAY AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT HEAT INDEX VALUES WONT
BE MUCH BELOW 80 DEGREES.

REMEMBER THAT THUNDERSTORMS...EVEN IF .THEY ARE NOT SEVERE ARE STILL
DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTNING THEY PRODUCE. USE COMMON SENSE
AND GET IN OUT OF THE RAIN IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN A THUNDERSTORM.

WOOLDRIDGE

The office that day

Everything else NWS New York, NY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 4:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXOrange83 min
Aug 16, 5:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXRockland60 min
Aug 16, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXPutnam, Westchester77 min
Aug 16, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXKings, Queens77 min
Aug 16, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXBronx, New York77 min
Aug 16, 5:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXNassau, Suffolk68 min
Aug 16, 6:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXSuffolk65 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.