Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 32, NWS State College, PA

January 8, 1998Lycoming County, Union County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Jan 8, 1998, 10:01 PM EST for Lycoming County, Union County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 6 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, 10:01 PM EST (03:01 UTC)
Expired
Jan 9, 1998, 4:00 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lycoming County, PA, Union County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:05 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

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 239 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-01-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 14 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-01-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 97 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
14 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
415 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
97 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 090302 RRA
FFWCTP
PAC081-119-090900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1001 PM EST THU JAN 8 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS EXTENDED THE FLOOD WARNING
FOR EASTERN LYCOMING COUNTY AND UNION COUNTY

* UNTIL 400 AM EST

* EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT FLOODING CONTINUES AS
RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINS EARLIER TODAY CONTINUE TO CAUSE PROBLEMS.

IN EASTERN LYCOMING COUNTY...SEVERAL CREEKS CONTINUE TO RISE IN AND
AROUND MUNCY...ROADS ARE CLOSED.

IN UNION COUNTY...BUFFALO CREEK IS ALSO RISING WITH SEVERAL ROADS
REPORTED CLOSED AS WELL.

LITTLE ADDITIONAL RAIN IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS WHEN
MORE SHOWERS MAY VISIT THE REGION. AS A RESULT...WATER LEVELS SHOULD
BEGIN TO LEVEL OFF AND START TO RECEDE TOWARD FRIDAY MORNING.


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.

LA CORTE
&

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, 9:00 PM EST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 8, 9:00 PM EST, 1 hour 1 minute before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
9 PM EST THU JAN 8 1998

...ZONE SUGGESTIONS...

.PIT...THANKS FOR CALL. CHC POPS OVERNIGHT SHADING WORDING TWD
SHOWERS POSSIBLE LATE AT NIGHT VS ALL NIGHT THREAT. HOLD OFF
MENTION OF THUNDER TO FRI AM (PERIOD 2) WITH FRONT...THO WUDNT PUT
A LOT OF MONEY BETTING ACTIVITY WONT HIT SWRN ZONES BEFORE I WAKE
UP TMRW.

.PHL...CHC POPS OK FOR REST OF OVERNIGHT. WUD DEFINITELY INCLUDE
THUNDER IN WORDING FOR FRI AS INSTABILITY AND FRONT PROVIDE
INGREDIENTS FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION.

...DISCUSSION...

OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN HASNT CHANGED MUCH. WARM BOUNDARY IS MORE
OR LESS STALLED ALONG NY/PA BORDER. MAIN SFC LOW IS TRACKING INTO
MID WEST WITH OCCLUSION SWINGING THRU TN VALLEY. BOUNDARY TO THE
NORTH MANAGED TO MAKE IT SOUTH OF BFD FOR A TIME...BEFORE MOVING
BACK TO THE NORTH OVER THE LAST FEW HOURS.

COLD FRONT SHUD BE ENTERING THE REGION EARLY FRI JUDGING BY SFC
PATTERN AND LIFTED INDEX FIELDS. ETA AND NGM PAINT IMPRESSIVE
INSTABILITY IN WARM SECTOR BEFORE FRONT MOVES THRU. ERN SECTIONS
DESTABILIZE THE MOST AS FROPA IS SLATED FOR SECOND HALF OF THE DAY.
SETUP LOOKS MORE LIKE SUMMER THAN THE DEAD OF WINTER.

NO MODEL DOING WELL WITH WINTER CONVECTION. MESO CONVECTIVE LINE
MOVING NE OUT OF OHIO LOOKS VERY JUICY ON RADAR BUT WILL SOON BE
ENCOUNTERING COOLER AIR AT THE SFC BOUNDARY. NO MODEL PAINTED QPF
IN THE AREA WHERE THE STORMS ARE FIRING. LACK OF STRONG LLJ SHUD
ASSURE ACTIVITY WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES INTO MORE STABLE
ENVIRONMENT.

WITH RIVERS RUNNING HIGH..HAVE TO STAY AWARE OF POTENTIAL FOR EVEN
JUST A LITTLE MORE RAIN TIPPING SCALES ON POINTS FCST TO CREST NEAR
FLOOD STAGE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. POTENTIAL IS THERE FOR ANOTHER
ROUND OF CONVECTION GIVEN THE APPROACH OF THE SFC FRONT...AND
FINALLY THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LOW/TROF.

SATELLITE SHOWS ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION SURGING NORTH AS UPPER
LOW SHOWS SIGNS OF MAKING NORTHWARD MOVE. THIS SHUD BE OUR LOT FRI.
IF ANYTHING MAKES IT INTO THE REGION TWD MORNING IT LOOKS TO BE
THIS ACTIVITY. REGIONAL RADAR DOES SHOW AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY
OVER TN/KY...WHICH LOOKS TO BE SURGING NORTH AND FOR THE TIME
BEING...AIMED AT WRN PA. COULD STILL BE INTERESTING EARLY FRI.

LA CORTE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 9, 2:42 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPWarren6 hr
Jan 9, 3:40 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland55 min
Jan 9, 4:17 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, York63 min
Jan 9, 4:44 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLebanon, Schuylkill61 min
Jan 9, 4:44 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPNorthumberland61 min
Jan 9, 5:26 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming, Sullivan6 hr
Jan 9, 11:00 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningCTPLycoming, Sullivan3 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.