Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS State College, PA

April 8, 1998Cambria County, Somerset County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 8, 1998, 5:54 PM EDT for Cambria County, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 61 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 8, 1998, 5:54 PM EDT (21:54 UTC)
Expired
Apr 8, 1998, 6:55 PM EDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cambria County, PA, Somerset County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 8, 6:05 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Somerset, PAWinds gusted to 60 mph in Somerset.
Apr 8, 6:07 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Johnstown, PAWires were blown down in Richland Township near Johnstown.
Apr 8, 6:26 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Nanty Glo, PATrees were blown down in Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. A Wendy's sign was also blown over in Ebensburg.

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 106 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 19 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1998-04-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
19 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

795 
WUUS01 KCTP 082153
SVRCTP
PAC021-111-082255-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
554 PM EDT WED APR 8 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 655 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

   ...CAMBRIA COUNTY

IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

   ...SOMERSET COUNTY
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTMORELAND AND INDIANA COUNTIES. THIS
AREA OF STORMS HAS A HISTORY OF 60 MPH WIND GUSTS AS IT MOVED
ACROSS SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA.

HIGH WINDS AHEAD OF THE STORMS WILL REACH JEROME.... BOSWELL AND
JENNERSTOWN IN NORTHWEST SOMERSET COUNTY BY AROUND 6 PM AND THE
JOHNSTOWN AND EBENSBURGS AREA AROUND 615 PM. THE STORMS WILL PASS
THROUGH SOMERSET AND CAMBRIA COUNTIES BETWEEN 6 AND 630 PM.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR YOUR
PROTECTION MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  HEAVY RAINS
FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY.  DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROAD.

NICOSIA/JUNG

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 Apr 8, 2:50 PM EDT, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 8, 2:50 PM EDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
250 PM EDT WED APR 8 1998

...SUGGESTIONS...
PHL AND PIT...WORK ZONES SENT. BELIEVE THAT MOST OF THE EASTERN HALF
OF PA SHOULD BE ESSENTIALLY DRY AFTER THE CURRENT ROUND OF SHRA/TSRA
CLEARS THE SUSQ VALLEYS EARLY THIS EVENING.

PIT...WILL SEE A FEW HOUR LULL IN THE PRECIP LATE THIS AFTERNOON
BEFORE THE CURRENT CONVECTION FORMING ACROSS CENTRAL OHIO MOVES
INTO THE WESTERN CWA ZONES AROUND 00Z. PER OUR TELCO...INTRODUCED
MENTION OF HEAVY (SOAKING) RAIN AT TIMES THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

...DISCUSSION...
SFC QUASI STNRY FRONT FROM THE SOUTHERN SHORELINE OF LAKE
ERIE...EAST INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WILL SLOWLY SAG TO THE SOUTH
TONIGHT.

LOWER BOUNDARY LAYER LI/S ARE CURRENTLY IN THE -2 TO -4 RANGE WEST
OF THE ALLEGHENYS WITH SFC DWPTS CREEPING INTO THE L50S. SOME OF
THIS MORE JUICY AIR WILL NOSE INTO OUR SRN AND WRN CWA
COUNTIES...BEFORE IT GETS SHUNTED TO THE SSW LATER TONIGHT.

TSRA OVER CENT OHIO WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY EARLY THIS EVENING AS
THEY APPROACH THE WRN PA BORDER...BEFORE WEAKENING TO SHOWERS EARLY
TONIGHT ACROSS WCENT PA. TEMPS WILL HOVER WITHIN A COUPLE DEG OF 50
ACROSS THE CENTRAL COUNTIES TONIGHT...AND WILL FALL TO THE MID-UPR
40S ACROSS THE NRN MOUNTAINS. READINGS WILL STAY STEADY OR SLOWLY
RISE OVER THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES.

FOR THURSDAY...120 KT H3 JET LIFTING NE OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY
AND CENT APPALACHIANS WILL STRENGTHEN THE SRLY LLVL FLOW WITHIN THE
THERMALLY INDIRECT CELL. STRONG UVVEL WILL BECOME FOCUSED E/W ACROSS
PA FROM THE LATE MORNING THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING
HOURS...SUPPORTING A STEADY...SOAKING RAIN FOR MOST OF THE STATE.

QUASI-STNRY FRONT DRAPED ACROSS THE SRN COUNTIES WILL HELP TO FOCUS
SCATTERED...STRONG TSRA DURING MAX HEATING WITH ETA LI/S DOWN TO
AROUND -4 AT 18-22Z. QPF TOTALS FROM 12Z TO 00Z FRI ROUGHLY AROUND AN
INCH ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTH.  HIGHER QPF (LOCALLY 1.5 TO 2.0)
POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER WHERE CONVECTION COMES INTO PLAY.

MODELS AGREE ON TAPERING PRECIP OFF FROM THE NW THURSDAY
NIGHT...FOLLOWED BY VERY COOL AIR AND WINDY CONDITIONS FOR FRIDAY.
I EVEN INCLUDED A FEW FLURRIES AT THE TAIL END OF THE PRECIP OVER
THE NCENT MOUNTAINS LATER THURSDAY...AND AGAIN ON FRIDAY. MOST AREAS
SHOULD SEE A DECENT AMOUNT OF SUN MIXING IN FRIDAY AFTERNOON...THOUGH
TEMPS WILL ONLY RANGE FROM AROUND 40 OVER THE NRN MOUNTAINS...TO
ABOUT 50 OVER THE SRN COUNTIES.

LAMBERT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 8, 4:43 PM EDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
443 PM EDT WED APR 08 1998

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

0328 PM    MIDDLETOWN                PA   58 MPH TSTM GUST
04/08/98   DAUPHIN                        REPORTED ON METAR AT MDT
0338 PM    BIGLERVILLE               PA   .75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98   ADAMS                          HAIL COVERED THE GROUND.
                                          ALSO REPORTED 50-60 MPH
                                          WIND GUST.

JUNG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 8, 3:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, York63 min
Apr 8, 3:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster60 min
Apr 8, 5:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFulton33 min
Apr 8, 6:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin47 min
Apr 8, 6:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Blair52 min
Apr 8, 6:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield52 min
Apr 8, 6:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCameron, Clinton48 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.