Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 161, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 1998, 5:55 PM EDT for Centre County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 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, 5:55 PM EDT (21:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 17, 1998, 6:55 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Centre County, PA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 6:05 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Julian, PA | Winds blew a utility pole over, damaging a house. |
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 200 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
- 1104 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 520 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 31 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 29 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
270 WUUS01 KCTP 172153 RRA SVRCTP PAC027-172255- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 555 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRE COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA * UNTIL 655 PM EDT * AT 553 PM EDT...STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF BELLEFONTE OR 4 MILES WEST OF MILESBURG...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... MILESBURG AT 605 PM EDT BELLEFONTE AT 610 PM EDT PLEASANT GAP AT 615 PM EDT BALD EAGLE STATE PARK AT 620 PM EDT HOWARD AT 620 PM EDT PENNS CAVE AT 625 PM EDT CENTRE HALL AT 630 PM EDT POTTERS MILLS AT 640 PM EDT THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS. KF/PJ
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, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 2:07 PM EDT, 3 hours 48 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
Local storm report, Jul 17, 5:27 PM EDT, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
527 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 1998
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0440 PM CATAWISSA PA WIND DAMAGE
07/17/98 COLUMBIA TREES DOWN.
0440 PM MAINVILLE PA WIND DAMAGE
07/17/98 COLUMBIA TREES DOWN.The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 4:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia | 35 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.