Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 197, NWS State College, PA

September 2, 1998Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 2, 1998, 3:25 PM EDT for Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland 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
Sep 2, 1998, 3:25 PM EDT (19:25 UTC)
Expired
Sep 2, 1998, 4:25 PM EDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Columbia County, PA, Montour County, PA, Northumberland County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:25 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 2, 3:35 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 51Washingtonville, PATrees were blown down on Route 54 just north of Washingtonville.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 2, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 173 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1998-09-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 1998-09-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 74 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
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

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 Sep 2, 3:15 PM EDT, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 3:15 PM EDT, 10 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 2, 11:35 AM EDT, 3 hours 50 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, 1 hour 25 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 2, 2:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster62 min
Sep 2, 2:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLycoming, Sullivan49 min
Sep 2, 6:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster16 min
Sep 2, 7:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster46 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.