Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 23, NWS State College, PA

May 4, 1998Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 4, 1998, 10:25 PM EDT for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 45 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 4, 1998, 10:25 PM EDT (02:25 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 1998, 11:10 PM EDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Huntingdon County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 171 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1998-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 957 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1998-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
957 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
757 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 050224 RRA
SVRCTP
PAC061-050310-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1025 PM EDT MON MAY 4 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN HUNTINGDON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 1110 PM EDT

* THE STORM WILL PASS NEAR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
DUDLEY                           BY 1020 PM EDT
ROTH ROCK STATE FOREST           BY 1040 PM EDT

* AT 1021 PM EDT... STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF SHIPPENSBURG OR 4 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF DUDLEY MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.

DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN ARE :LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

THIS SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE TORRENTIAL RAINS
AND MAY CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS.

JUNG

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 May 4, 9:00 PM EDT, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 9:00 PM EDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
900 PM EDT MON MAY 4 1998

...SUGGESTIONS...

PHL...
ZONES ALREADY OUT I SEE.  MY ONLY REAL SUGGESTION WAS TO RAISE POPS
IN LOWER SUSQ TO LIKELY...WHICH I SEE WAS DONE.

PIT...
ZONES LOOK GOOD...EXCEPT TWEAKING WORDING REMOVING EVENING.

...DISCUSSION...

ANOTHER NIGHT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE CWA AS THE UPPER
LOW CONTINUES TO MAKE SLOW PROGRESS TOWARD THE REGION.  SOUTHERLY
WIND FLOW LESS THAN 20 KTS HAS RESULTED IN SHOWERS AND STORMS BEING
SLOW MOVERS.  NO FLOODING YET TO REPORT HOWEVER.  IFLOWS GAGES OVER
CAMBRIA CO SHOW THAT RADAR ESTIMATES MAY BE HIGH...PROBABLY BEING
CONTAMINATED BY SMALL HAIL.

TONIGHTS FORECAST AGAIN HINGES ON TIMING OF SPOKES OF ENERGY
ROTATING THROUGH THE REGION...AND HOW MUCH PCPN WILL BE GENERATED BY
THEM.  MODEL SOUNDINGS DO NOT SHOW MUCH STABILIZATION OVERNIGHT AS
UPPER LEVELS REMAIN COLD WITH THE 500 LOW MOVING IN. THERE WILL ALSO
BE A WEAK UPPER SHORTWAVE ROTATING THROUGH FROM THE SOUTH TOWARD 06Z.
MODELS WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE CONCENTRATION OF PCPN WILL BE ACROSS
THE SOUTHEAST ZONES TONIGHT...POSSIBLY EXTENDING INTO SOUTH CENTRAL
MTS.  WOULD CONTINUE CHC POPS FOR ALL AREAS EXCEPT THE LAURELS AND
25/26/27/28/34/35/36 BREAKOUT WHERE LIKELY POPS WOULD BE IN STORE...
ESPECIALLY WITH THE APPROACHING SHORTWAVE.

WOULD ALSO BUMP POPS UP TO LIKELY IN THE LOWER SUSQ FOR THE
OVERNIGHT AS ACTIVITY FROM EASTERN VA SKIRTS AREA.

ALTHOUGH LTG ACTIVITY WEAKENING SLOWLY WITH TIME TONIGHT...WITH
OVERNIGHT LI/S REMAINING IN THE -2 RANGE...CAN NOT TOTALLY RULE OUT
ADDITIONAL ISOLATED TSRA.  WOULD THEREFORE KEEP THE MENTION
OF THUNDER IN THE FORECAST OVERNIGHT FOR ALL ZONES EXCEPT MAYBE
NORTHEAST.

JUNG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 6:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPYork4 hr
May 5, 6:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria47 min
May 5, 6:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSomerset35 min
May 5, 7:16 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria, Somerset3 hr
May 5, 7:32 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin3 hr
May 5, 7:40 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford50 min
May 5, 7:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford50 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.