Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS State College, PA

January 8, 19984 counties in Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Jan 8, 1998, 2:02 PM EST for 4 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 8, 1998, 2:02 PM EST (19:02 UTC)
Expired
Jan 8, 1998, 6:05 PM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bedford County, PA, Blair County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:05 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 nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 157 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-01-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 54 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-01-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 333 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
54 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
642 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
333 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
438 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 081907 RRA
FFWCTP
PAC009-013-027-035-057-061-087-082305-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
202 PM EST THU JAN 8 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR
  CLINTON COUNTY
  CENTRE COUNTY
  BLAIR COUNTY
  HUNTINGDON COUNTY
  MIFFLIN COUNTY
  BEDFORD COUNTY
  FULTON COUNTY

* UNTIL 605 PM EST


* RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES FELL ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA IN THE
  PAST 24 HOURS.  ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN WILL CROSS THE AREA
  THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON.

MANY SMALL STREAMS ARE RUNNING AT BANKFULL AND ANY ADDED HEAVY
RAIN SHOULD CAUSE FLOODING.  SMALL STREAMS AND ROADWAYS MAY FLOOD
QUICKLY AS ADDITIONAL RAIN MOVES EAST ACROSS THE AREA.


DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED
QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

DUNHAM

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Jan 8, 12:52 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 8, 12:52 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1255 AM EST THU JAN 8 1998

...ZONE SUGGESTIONS...

PIT/PHL...CALL IF SIG. CHANGES PLANNED.  SEE BELOW FOR MY
2 CENTS WORTH.

...DISCUSSION...

MAIN AREA OF HEAVY RAIN OVER SE PA LOOKS LIKE IT IS GOING NEG
TILT AND LIFTING OUT.  SOME HEAVY RAIN OVER SW NY...BUT MAY BE
SOME BRIGHT BANDING.  ALSO MOVING N OUT OF N PA.

ANOTHER AREA OF HEAVIER SHOWERS OVER SW PA...BUT MOVING FAIRLY
FAST.

THUS THE WORSE LOOKS LIKE IT IS OVER...THUS DID NOT GO TOO CRAZY
WITH NEW QPS.  MOST LIKELY WILL STILL NEED TO KEEP WATCHES UP
INTO THIS EVENING...BASED ON SPOTTY HEAVY RAIN...AND CURRENT
PATCH WORK OF WARNINGS...UNLESS ECHOES ON RADAR DRY UP AND
WARNINGS CAN DIE BY 4 PM.

MARTIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 7, 10:36 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPWarren7 hr
Jan 8, 2:42 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPSomerset6 hr
Jan 8, 5:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPWarren3 hr
Jan 8, 7:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, York66 min
Jan 8, 8:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill4 hr
Jan 8, 8:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, York4 hr
Jan 8, 8:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPLancaster4 hr
Jan 8, 8:50 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPWarren5 hr
Jan 8, 9:20 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPMcKean5 hr
Jan 8, 10:35 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland, Franklin, Perry4 hr
Jan 8, 11:42 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, York4 hr
Jan 8, 11:42 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill4 hr
Jan 8, 12:04 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPPotter4 hr
Jan 8, 12:26 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPJuniata, Northumberland, Snyder4 hr
Jan 8, 12:26 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPColumbia, Montour4 hr
Jan 8, 12:26 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPUnion4 hr
Jan 8, 1:28 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming, Sullivan4 hr
Jan 8, 1:31 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPMcKean, Warren4 hr
Jan 8, 2:02 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre, Clinton4 hr
Jan 8, 2:02 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPMifflin4 hr
Jan 8, 2:42 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCumberland, Franklin, Perry4 hr
Jan 8, 3:36 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill6 hr
Jan 8, 3:36 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, York6 hr
Jan 8, 3:52 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPPotter6 hr
Jan 8, 4:17 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCameron6 hr
Jan 8, 4:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, York6 hr
Jan 8, 4:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPCentre, Clinton, Mifflin, Union6 hr
Jan 8, 4:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPColumbia, Juniata, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Perry and 2 more6 hr
Jan 8, 4:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPSullivan6 hr
Jan 8, 4:27 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland6 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.