Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 113, NWS State College, PA

June 20, 1998Snyder County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 20, 1998, 5:02 PM EDT for Snyder County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 48 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
Jun 20, 1998, 5:02 PM EDT (21:02 UTC)
Expired
Jun 20, 1998, 5:50 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Snyder County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:02 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, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 204 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 1998-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-06-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1254 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
2 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 202102 RRA
SVRCTP
PAC109-202150-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
502 PM EDT SAT JUN 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SNYDER COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 550 PM EDT

* AT 500 PM EDT...STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES WEST OF SELINSGROVE OR IN THE VICINITY OF
  BEAVER SPRINGS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SELINSGROVE AT 510 PM EDT
  SHAMOKIN DAM AT 510 PM EDT
  PORT TREVORTON AT 520 PM EDT

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDINGB AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

MSE

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.

NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 20, 2:20 PM EDT, 2 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 2:20 PM EDT, 2 hours 42 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
220 PM EDT SAT JUN 20 1998

...DISCUSSION...

WK S/WV RESPONSIBLE FOR SCT TSRA THIS AFTN...WILL PASS SOUTH AND
EAST OF THE REGION THIS EVENING.  WUD KEEP CHC POPS FOR SUSQ VALL
EARLY THIS EVENING.  RIDGE THEN BUILDS INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT WITH
SIGNIFICANT DRYING/SUBSIDENCE AT ALL LEVELS.  SKIES SHOULD BECOME
MOSTLY CLEAR ACROSS ENTIRE FA.  MOS FORECASTING AM FOG...HOWEVER DO
NOT FEEL IT WILL BE DENSE ENOUGH TO MENTION IN ZONES.

SUNDAY...RIDGE AXIS PROGGED TO REMAIN JUST W OF FA...THUS EXPECT
PLENTY OF SUNSHINE.  SUBSIDENCE AND WARMING TEMPS ALOFT WILL LIMIT
CU FORMATION.  IN ADDTION...8H TEMPS PROGGED IN THE 17-18C RANGE
WILL TRANSLATE TO AFTN SFC TEMPS IN EXCESS OF 90 DEGREES IN THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS.

SUN NITE...NEXT S/WV ROTATES AROUND THE BASE OF MAIN TROUGH IN THE
UPPER MID WEST...THEN INTO PA DURING SUN NITE.  THIS FEATURE IS
PROGGED TO BE WEAK AND PRODUCES LITTLE COOLING ALOFT DESPITE AN
INCREASE IN LL MOISTURE.  AT THIS POINT...WUD PLACE CHC POPS NW
ZONES AND LEAVE REMAINDER OUT FOR NOW.

MONDAY...L/WV TROUGH PASSES TO OUR N THROUGH SE CANADA.  MOST
SIGNIFICANT UPPER LVL DIFFLUENCE AND COOLING WILL OCCUR WELL TO OUR
N...HOWEVER WUD ADD CHC POPS ALL ZONES FOR A TSRA.  UNDER PTSUNNY
SKIES...TEMPS WILL LIKELY BE SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN ON SUNDAY.

FITZGERALD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 20, 4:19 PM EDT, 43 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
419 PM EDT SAT JUN 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0400 PM    LOCK HAVEN                PA   WIND DAMAGE
06/20/98   CLINTON                        TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
Special weather statement, Jun 20, 4:25 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
PAZ012-045-202050-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
425 PM EDT SAT JUN 20 1998

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CLINTON
COUNTY UNTIL 435 PM...

AT 425 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
SOUTHERN CLINTON COUNTY JUST TO THE SOUTH OF LOCK HAVEN NEAR I-80.
TREES AND POWERLINES WERE DOWNED IN LOCK HAVEN AROUND 4 PM AS THE
STORM MOVED THROUGH THAT AREA. THE STORM WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST
THROUGH LOGANTON AND CARROLL THROUGH 435 PM.

WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  DO NOT USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

MSE
Special weather statement, Jun 20, 4:25 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
PAZ012-045-202050-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
425 PM EDT SAT JUN 20 1998

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CLINTON
COUNTY UNTIL 435 PM...

AT 425 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
SOUTHERN CLINTON COUNTY JUST TO THE SOUTH OF LOCK HAVEN NEAR I-80.
TREES AND POWERLINES WERE DOWNED IN LOCK HAVEN AROUND 4 PM AS THE
STORM MOVED THROUGH THAT AREA. THE STORM WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST
THROUGH LOGANTON AND CARROLL THROUGH 435 PM.

WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  DO NOT USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

MSE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 20, 12:34 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria4 hr
Jun 20, 3:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClinton46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1998Every severe thunderstorm 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.