Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS State College, PA
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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 6:05 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Somerset, PA | Winds gusted to 60 mph in Somerset. |
| Apr 8, 6:07 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Johnstown, PA | Wires were blown down in Richland Township near Johnstown. |
| Apr 8, 6:26 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Nanty Glo, PA | Trees 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.
- 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
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.
JUNGThe office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 3:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Adams, York | 63 min |
| Apr 8, 3:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 60 min |
| Apr 8, 5:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Fulton | 33 min |
| Apr 8, 6:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Franklin | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 6:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Bedford, Blair | 52 min |
| Apr 8, 6:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield | 52 min |
| Apr 8, 6:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cameron, Clinton | 48 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.