Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 196, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 2, 1998, 2:51 PM EDT for Lycoming County, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 49 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
- Sep 2, 1998, 2:51 PM EDT (18:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 2, 1998, 3:40 PM EDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lycoming County, PA, Sullivan County, PA
The radar
The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:53 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 3:35 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 51 | Sonestown, PA | Trees were blown down on the road just north of Elk Grove. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 222 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1665 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 74 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 157 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
743 WUUS01 KCTP 021852 RRA SVRCTP PAC081-113-021940- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 251 PM EDT WED SEP 2 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EASTERN LYCOMING COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA SULLIVAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA * UNTIL 340 PM EDT * AT 248 PM EDT...STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS 14 MILES WEST OF LAPORTE OR IN THE VICINITY OF BARBOURS...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... MUNCY VALLEY AT 300 PM EDT EAGLES MERE AT 300 PM EDT WORLDS END STATE PARK AT 305 PM EDT LAPORTE AT 310 PM EDT DUSHORE AT 315 PM EDT MILDRED AT 320 PM EDT LOPEZ AT 325 PM EDT COLLEY AT 330 PM EDT THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS. REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE ADVANCE WARNING. LAMBERT/ONDREJIK
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 Sep 2, 10:10 AM EDT, 4 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 10:10 AM EDT, 4 hours 41 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1010 AM EDT WED SEP 2 1998 ...WRK ZNS FOR PHL/PIT SENT AT 945 AM... 90 KT 3H JET RACING ACROSS FCST/A WITH LEFT EXIT REGION LOCATED OVER NE PA. SFC COLD FRONT CURRENTLY OVER LAKE ERI WILL SLIDE TO THE UNV AREA BY 18Z. MAIN FORCING STAYS NORTH OF FCST/A WHILE HIGHEST SFC DEWPTS ARE CURRENTLY ACROSS E PA. THUS...INDICATED HIGHEST POPS FOR NE PA THIS AFTN. PREVIOUS FCST TREND LOOKS GOOD WITH 30 POPS ACROSS S CWA. IR/VIS SATELLITE SHOWS NICE CLEARING TREND MOVING INTO SW PA ATTM BUT THIS SHOULD NOT LAST LONG AS COLD FRONT SHOULD INCREASE SFC CONVERGENCE AND ALLOW FOR CU PRODUCTION. STRONG SUBSC MOVING INTO THE REGION TONIGHT CONTRIBUTING TO PARTIAL CLEARING BUT THE TRADE OFF IS DENSE FOG ACROSS THE N CWA. .CTP...NONE. WINTHER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 2, 11:35 AM EDT, 3 hours 16 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-022100- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1135 AM EDT WED SEP 02 1998 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA INDICATES THAT A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS THE LOWER AND MIDDLE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. AS THE COLD FRONT REACHES THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY LATER TODAY...A FEW OF THE STRONGEST STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH LOCALIZED STRONG DAMAGING WINDS OR LARGE HAIL. ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED TO DEVELOP...SKYWARN SPOTTERS ACTIVATION MAY STILL BE REQUIRED. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON TODAYS THUNDERSTORMS. WINTHER
Special weather statement, Sep 2, 2:00 PM EDT, 51 minutes before
PAZ006-011-012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-022345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT- SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 200 PM EDT WED SEP 2 1998 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 8 PM EDT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...INCLUDING THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY... COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE... TIOGA... LYCOMING... SULLIVAN... CLINTON... POTTER... CENTRE... BLAIR... HUNTINGDON... MIFFLIN... JUNIATA... SNYDER... UNION... NORTHUMBERLAND... MONTOUR... COLUMBIA... SCHUYLKILL... BEDFORD... FULTON... FRANKLIN... PERRY... DAUPHIN... CUMBERLAND...LEBANON... ADAMS... YORK AND LANCASTER THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH COVERS THE REGION GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM WELLSBORO...SOUTHWEST TO PHILIPSBURG AND ALTOONA. A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS SOUTHWEST TO CLEARFIELD AND INDIANA AT 2 PM...WILL INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES SOUTHEAST DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH...FREQUENT DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND BRIEF TORRENTIAL RAIN. KEEP TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INFORMATION VIA THE RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. TAKE COVER INDOORS...PREFERABLY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS...IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. LAMBERT
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2:43 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 62 min |
| Sep 2, 3:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia, Montour, Northumberland | 60 min |
| Sep 2, 6:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 16 min |
| Sep 2, 7:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 46 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.