Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998
Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Feb 18, 1998, 12:59 AM EST for Northumberland County, Snyder County, Union County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 5 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
- Feb 18, 1998, 12:59 AM EST (05:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 18, 1998, 6:00 AM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Northumberland County, PA, Snyder County, PA, Union County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:45 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 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 216 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
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -197 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 513 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 77 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 390 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 445 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 180559 FFWCTP PAC081-093-097-109-119-181100- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1259 AM EST WED FEB 18 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 AM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA ...LYCOMING COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA ...UNION COUNTY ...SNYDER COUNTY ...NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY ...MONTOUR COUNTY AT 1250 AM EST... DOPPLER RADAR FROM STATE COLLEGE SHOWED A LARGE AREA OF HEAVY RAINFALL FROM LYCOMING COUNTY SOUTH THROUGH UNION... MONTOUR... NORTHUMBERLAND AND SNYDER COUNTIES. THE AREA OF RAIN WAS MOVING SLOWLY NORTH. RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES HAS FALLEN IN THE ABOVE AREAS. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR SO OF RAIN WILL FALL AND CAUSE FLOODING OF SOME AREA STREAMS AND CREEKS. POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW-LYING AREAS WILL ALSO SEE FLOODING. EXPECT THE HEAVY RAIN TO WIND DOWN AFTER 2 AM. HOWEVER... STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE... AND CREST TOWARD DAWN. 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. NICOSIA
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 Feb 17, 8:50 PM EST, 4 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 8:50 PM EST, 4 hours 9 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 850 PM EST TUE FEB 17 1998 ...SUGGESTIONS... SHOWERS/FEW TSRA LWR/MID SUS VLLY. SHRA UPR SUS VLLY. SHRA WRN CTP ZONES... CHC TSRA C/SC PA ZONES. SHWRS WED. DROP HIGH WIND WARNING/ADVY/S. AS FOR FFA... WILL DISCUSS AS PER TELCO. PROBABLY CAN DROP MOST AREAS EXCEPT LWR SUS VLLY. ...DISCUSSION... HAD QUITE A VARIETY OF WX THIS SHIFT HVY SNOW... SLEET... SOME FRZA NE PA... SVR TRW IN SW CWA AND HVY RAIN IN A FEW SPOTS. FEW FLASHES OF LIGHTNING OUTSIDE HERE IN STATE COLLEGE AS SMALL INOCUOUS LOOKING TSRA PASSED BY. THE ONE SVR CELL WAS IN SOMERSET/CAMBRIA COUNTY ERLR THIS EVE WHICH KNOCKED DOWN SOME TREES AND WIRES. OTHRW... NO OTHER MAJOR CELLS. A DEEP SRLY FLO EXISTS ACRS PA THRU THE TROPOSPHERE W/ AN E-SE FLO HOLDING OUT IN THE LOWEST FEW THSD FEET ASSCTD WITH A VERY STBL SFC LAYER. IR/WV IMAGERY INDICATE THAT SIGNIFICANT DRYING HAS TAKEN PLACE AT MID TO UPR LVL/S AS A POTENT SHRT WAVE AND ASSCTD JET STREAK HAS PUNCHED N INTO PA. THIS DRYING ALOFT HAS OVERTAKEN A LOW-LVL THETA-E RDG WHICH WAS BEING ADVECTED INTO PA ON THE LOW-LVL ERLY FLO. AS THE LOW-LVL ERLY FLO ASCENDS THE MTNS IN PA... IT WAS TRIGGERG THE POTENTIAL INSTABILITY BUILT UP ALOFT (FM THE DRYING) FORMING THE MINIMAL TSRA AND PLENTY OF SHRA. THIS UPR LVL SHRT WAVE FEATURE WAS REFLECTED ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SFC INDICATIVE OF THE VERY LOW STABILITY AIR (ABV THE VRY STBL SFC LAYER) THAT EXISTS ON THE EAST-SIDE OF THIS UPR LVL TROF/LO. LAPSE RATES FM 850 TO 500 MB AND THE SHOWALTER INDEX (LIFTED FM 850 MB) BOTH REVEAL THE POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTIVE OVERTURNING CONTINUES WELL INTO THE OVERNIGHT AS THE UPR LVL LO APPROACHES THE REGION. THUS... WUD HV SHRA AND A FEW TSRA ALL ZONES E OF THE ALLEGHENNY FRNT WHICH TAP INTO THE DRY AIR ALOFT THE MOST AND WERE DEEPER INTO THE LOW-LVL THETA-E RDG. W OF THE ALLGHENNY FRNT... WUD JUST HV EITHER SHRA OR PERIODS OF RAIN. BELIEVE THE SHRA/TSRA WILL DIE DOWN SOME AFTER 06Z AS THE ERLY FLO CONTS TO SLACKEN REDUCING THE OROGRAPHIC TRIGGER FOR THE SHRA. STEADIER PRECIP ASSCTD WITH THE UPR LVL LO ITSELF WILL WORK INTO THE REGION BY 12Z OR SO. A DECENT LINE OF TSRA WAS MOVING N-NE FM VA AND CUD CLIP PARTS OF THE LOWR SUS VLLY LATER THIS EVENING. WILL BE WATCHING THIS FEATURE CLOSELY. FFA/S PROBABLY WILL BE NEEDED ONLY IN THIS REGION IF THIS LINE OF TSRA HOLDS TOGETHER. REST OF CWA IS OUT OF THE DEEP MOISTURE-LADEN PART OF THE SYSTEM. ALSO... THE LOW-LVL BAROCLINIC ZONE HAS SHIFTED N OF PA. THUS FFA/S PROBABLY CAN DIE REST OF AREA. AS FOR HIGH WINDS... W/ THE SFC REFLECTION OF THE UPR LVL SHRT WAVE MOVING INTO PA OVERNIGHT... PRES GRAD CONTS TO SLACKEN. WINDS ALREADY HAVE DIED DOWN IN PA SO ALL WARNINGS AND ADVY/S FOR WIND CAN BE DROPPED TOO. ONE LAST POINT... THE SNOW HAS CHANGED TO SHRA/PE IN TIOGA/POTTER COUNTIES. VALLEYS SAW MIMINAL ACC/S HIGHER TERRAIN 1 OR 2 INCHES. WILL HNDL LINGERING LIGHT MIXED PRECIP IN NOW/S AS PRECIP SHUD BE MAINLY RAIN OVERNIGHT UP IN NE PA FOR THE ZONES. NICOSIA
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 11:00 PM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes before
PAZ005-010-011-017-024-033-180600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- HIGH WIND WARNING/ADVISORY EXPIRATION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1100 PM EST TUE FEB 17 1998 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ALLOWED ALL HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WIND ADVISORIES FROM THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS TO THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS TO EXPIRE AS OF 11 PM... THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... CLEARFIELD... CAMBRIA... AND SOMERSET. THE WIND ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... MCKEAN... ELK... AND CAMERON. WINDS HAVE DIMINISHED MARKEDLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS. FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS... EXPECT EAST WINDS UP TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH OR SO. THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS OR WINDS THAT WOULD CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INCONVENIENCE HAS ENDED. THUS... ALL HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WIND ADVISORIES THAT WERE IN EFFECT PREVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. HERE ARE SOME PEAK WIND GUSTS AS OF LATE EVENING... JOHNSTOWN-CAMBRIA COUNTY AIRPORT...45 MPH DUBOIS-JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT...44 MPH BRADFORD REGIONAL AIRPORT...38 MPH. ALTOONA-BLAIR COUNTY AIRPORT...40 MPH NICOSIA
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 11:00 PM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes before
PAZ005-010-011-017-024-033-180600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- HIGH WIND WARNING/ADVISORY EXPIRATION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1100 PM EST TUE FEB 17 1998 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ALLOWED ALL HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WIND ADVISORIES FROM THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS TO THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS TO EXPIRE AS OF 11 PM... THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... CLEARFIELD... CAMBRIA... AND SOMERSET. THE WIND ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... MCKEAN... ELK... AND CAMERON. WINDS HAVE DIMINISHED MARKEDLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS. FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS... EXPECT EAST WINDS UP TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH OR SO. THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS OR WINDS THAT WOULD CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INCONVENIENCE HAS ENDED. THUS... ALL HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WIND ADVISORIES THAT WERE IN EFFECT PREVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. HERE ARE SOME PEAK WIND GUSTS AS OF LATE EVENING... JOHNSTOWN-CAMBRIA COUNTY AIRPORT...45 MPH DUBOIS-JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT...44 MPH BRADFORD REGIONAL AIRPORT...38 MPH. ALTOONA-BLAIR COUNTY AIRPORT...40 MPH NICOSIA
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 12:59 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Lycoming, Montour | 5 hr |
| Feb 18, 5:53 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Union | 2 hr |
| Feb 18, 7:55 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Union | 4 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.