Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 22, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 1998, 3:27 PM EDT for York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 63 min. 2 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 17, 1998, 3:27 PM EDT (19:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 17, 1998, 4:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County York County, PA
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 4:10 PM EDT | Hail 1 | Glen Rock, PA | |
| Apr 17, 4:15 PM EDT | Hail 1 | Shrewsbury, PA | Quarter sized hail fell in Shrewsbury and trees and limbs were downed in Glen Rock. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 3:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 122 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
- 1936 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -67 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -46 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
331 WUUS01 KCTP 171925 RRA SVRCTP PAC133-172030- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 327 PM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... YORK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA * UNTIL 430 PM EDT * AT 325 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST EAST OF BONNEAUVILLE... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... HANOVER AT 330 PM EDT YORK AT 345 PM EDT THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS. 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. WINTHER/LACORTE
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 17, 1:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 1:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 135 PM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 ...PIT/PHL... WRK ZONES WILL BE SENT ARND 215 PM. WATCHING COLD FRONT MOVING INTO LOWER SUS. A FEW ISOL TSTMS POPING ALONG BNDRY. ...DISCUSSION... COLD FRONT PUSHING INTO THE SUS VALLEY ATTM. RADAR SHOWING A SCATTERED LINE OF SHOWERS WITH A FEW TSTMS POPING IN THE LOWER SUS. ALTHOUGH SOME SUNSHINE WILL DESTABILIZE AREA...MAIN SHRTWV HAS NOW MOVED INTO NY SO WE WILL SEE IF SFC CONVERGENCE CAN POP SOME SVR ACTIVITY. COLD FRONT PUSHES EAST OF CWA TONIGHT. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES SHOULD BE THE RULE (EXCEPT BECOMING CLR ACROSS SE CWA). SHOULD WINDS DECOUPLE...THEN MIN TEMPS WILL BE BELOW MOS. AMPLIFY 5H TROF ACROSS MIDWEST WITH SHRTWV SLIDING ARND BASE OF TROF ON SAT WILL INDUCE SFC CYCLOGENESIS ACROSS TN SAT NIGHT. WAA CLD COVER WILL SLIDE INTO S PA SAT MORNING AND INTO N PA BY AFTN (BECOMING CLOUDY SOUTH/MORNING SUNSHINE FOLLOWED BY INCREASING CLDS FOR THE NORTH). WILL INTRO 30 POPS FOR LAUREL HIGHLANDS LATE SAT. SFC LOW WILL LIFT NORTH INTO OH ON SUNDAY. WITH DECENT 8H 50KT JET NOSING INTO SW PA DURING THE DAY...EXPECT 1-2 INCH RAINS FOR MUCH OF W PA. MID SHIFT CAN ISSUE AN ESF SHOULD MODELS STICK TO THIS SCENARIO. WINTHER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 11:40 AM EDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
PAZ026>028-035>036-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059-063>066-172100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL PA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1140 AM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER INDICATES THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHCENTRAL AND EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP DURING THE MID AND LATE AFTERNOON AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES EAST ACROSS THE REGION. THE THREAT AREA IS PRIMARILY ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER VALLEY...GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM WILLIAMSPORT...TO MIFFLINTOWN...AND CHAMBERSBURG. SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY. LAMBERT
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 11:40 AM EDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
PAZ026>028-035>036-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059-063>066-172100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL PA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1140 AM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER INDICATES THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHCENTRAL AND EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP DURING THE MID AND LATE AFTERNOON AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES EAST ACROSS THE REGION. THE THREAT AREA IS PRIMARILY ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER VALLEY...GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM WILLIAMSPORT...TO MIFFLINTOWN...AND CHAMBERSBURG. SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY. LAMBERT
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 3:00 PM EDT, 27 minutes before
PAZ057>059-064>066-180100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 300 PM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA UNTIL 900 PM EDT... COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE: ...SCHUYLKILL...DAUPHIN...LEBANON...ADAMS...YORK...LANCASTER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. THIS WATCH IS VALID UNTIL 900 PM THIS EVENING. A NARROW LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR BLOOMSBURG...SOUTH SOUTHWEST TO HARRISBURG. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL MOVE TO THE NEW JERSEY STATE LINE EARLY THIS EVENING. THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MOVE THROUGH LANCASTER BETWEEN 400 AND 430 PM EDT. ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH STRONG ...GUSTY WINDS AND PERHAPS HAIL UP TO ONE-INCH IN DIAMETER. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LAST ONLY 10 TO 20 MINUTES IN ANY ONE LOCATION. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER AND/OR HAVING LARGE HAIL. DEADLY CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO BE ACCOMPANYING THE THUNDERSTORMS. WHEN THE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. STAY TUNED TO THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR TUNE TO THE STATE COLLEGE NATIONAL WEATHER OFFICE WEB SITE AT HTTP://BOOKEND.MET.PSU.EDU FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. LAMBERT
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 3:00 PM EDT, 27 minutes before
PAZ057>059-064>066-180100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 300 PM EDT FRI APR 17 1998 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA UNTIL 900 PM EDT... COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE: ...SCHUYLKILL...DAUPHIN...LEBANON...ADAMS...YORK...LANCASTER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. THIS WATCH IS VALID UNTIL 900 PM THIS EVENING. A NARROW LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR BLOOMSBURG...SOUTH SOUTHWEST TO HARRISBURG. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL MOVE TO THE NEW JERSEY STATE LINE EARLY THIS EVENING. THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MOVE THROUGH LANCASTER BETWEEN 400 AND 430 PM EDT. ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH STRONG ...GUSTY WINDS AND PERHAPS HAIL UP TO ONE-INCH IN DIAMETER. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LAST ONLY 10 TO 20 MINUTES IN ANY ONE LOCATION. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER AND/OR HAVING LARGE HAIL. DEADLY CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO BE ACCOMPANYING THE THUNDERSTORMS. WHEN THE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. STAY TUNED TO THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR TUNE TO THE STATE COLLEGE NATIONAL WEATHER OFFICE WEB SITE AT HTTP://BOOKEND.MET.PSU.EDU FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. LAMBERT
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cumberland, Dauphin | 60 min |
| Apr 17, 2:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Adams | 45 min |
| Apr 17, 4:08 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | York | 32 min |
| Apr 17, 4:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 36 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.