Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 160, NWS State College, PA

July 17, 1998Columbia County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 1998, 4:15 PM EDT for Columbia County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 35 min. 1 report 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
Jul 17, 1998, 4:15 PM EDT (20:15 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1998, 4:50 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Columbia County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 17, 4:40 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Catawissa, PATrees down in Catawissa and Mainville.

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

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 281 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, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 1998-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 542 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, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 1998-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 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
542 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
712 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 Jul 17, 2:07 PM EDT, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 2:07 PM EDT, 2 hours 8 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
207 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 1998

...ZONES TO BE SENT TO PIT/PHL VIA ADMCTP BY 230 PM...

...DISCUSSION...

MAIN FCST PROBLM...HOW TO DEAL W/PCPN TONIGHT.

SCT TSRA POPPING ATTM ACRS CENT MTNS. STRMS FEEDING ON UPR 60S AND
LWR 70S DWPTS...AND GOOD DRY AIR INTRUSION AT MID LVLS. SPEED
MAX/JET STREAK EVIDENT ON WV LOOP FM SW TO NE DIRECTLY OVR CENT PA
ATTM...AS FNT ANALYZED EARLIER ON SFC ANALYSIS IN OH/WRN PA HAS
MOVD E. FNT SHWS UP BEST IN SFC WND FIELD.

SFC DRY AIR OVR CENT OH EARLIER HAS NOT YET MADE IT INTO WRN PA. WV
ALSO DEPICTS STRONG VORT MAX OVR GRT LKS MOVG ESE INTO SRN ONT.
ALL PROGGED TO PUSH ACRS PA THIS AFT/EVE. GETTING PETTY ON THE
TIMING MAY NOT BE EASY...SO WL PROB LEAVE TIMING OUT IN NRN ZNS.
SRN ZNS WL LIKELY HAVE DISTINCT END...AS GRT LKS S/W ENERGY STAYS TO
N OF THOSE CTYS.

LIKED ETA SOLN BETTER TDY...AS BIG THREE MODELS INITIALIZED
SIMILARLY. BUT...NGM PUMPS OUT PCPN DURING THE DAY SAT OVR WRN PA.
ETA POOLS THTE ARND BWI/LWR SUSQ IN ERLY PDS. THIS SEEMS VERY LIKELY
AS FNT DRAGS E/W LATER TNGHT S OF MASON/DIXON LN.

COOLER...BUT NOT MUCH...ON SAT AND HUMIDITIES MUCH LWR. TRAJECTORIES
FOR SAT COMING DOWN FM LK SUP/E WISCONSIN  LCL CU RULE INDICATES
VERY STABLE LWR LYRS ON SAT OVER FA W/SCT CU AT BEST. MO SUNNY WRDNG
BEST. TEMPS W/SS WILL RISE WELL. MDL SNDG FOR UNV GIVES MAX IN LWR
80S (HIER THAN FWC). SAME DEAL FOR IPT GIVES BARELY COOLER VALUES
THAN DO FWC/FAN THO. WL LIKELY GO W/FAN AS STRONG JULY SS FACTORS
BIG. POPS UNLIKELY IN LAST THREE PDS...BUT LIKELY TO NEARLY CAT IN
FIRST PD.

AGREE W/PITS SFD COMMENT ON LEAVING OUT POPS FOR SUNDAY ATTM...BUT
MOIST RETURN FLOW IS RAPID. THIS DRY SHOT WILL BE SHORT-LIVED.

.CTP...NONE

DANGELO

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 17, 10:33 AM EDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 5:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre60 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.