Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS State College, PA

May 25, 1998Centre County, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 1998, 5:05 AM EDT for Centre County, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 55 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 25, 1998, 5:05 AM EDT (09:05 UTC)
Expired: May 25, 1998, 6:00 AM EDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Centre County, PA, Clearfield County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:08 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
May 25, 5:30 AM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 51	Fillmore, PA	Downburst winds blew over about 2 dozen trees one mile west of Filmore on Route 550, northwest of State College. A group of campers in the area for a reunion narrowly escaped injury when trees fell down around their tents.

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 00:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 198 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 69 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -185 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1081 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 277 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPHL 250905 RRA
SVRCTP
PAC027-033-251000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
505 AM EDT MON MAY 25 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

   * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
     WESTERN CENTRE COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA
     EASTERN CLEARFIELD COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

   * UNTIL 600 AM EDT

   * AT 458 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
     A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MUNSON...MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES PER
     HOUR.

   * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
     3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WINBURNE AT 505 AM EDT
     3 MILES NORTHEAST OF MID STATE ARPT AT 510 AM EDT
     5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MID STATE ARPT AT 515 AM EDT
     4 MILES NORTH OF JULIAN AT 520 AM EDT
     3 MILES NORTHWEST OF FILLMORE AT 525 AM EDT
     UNIONVILLE AT 530 AM EDT
     AXEMANN AT 540 AM EDT
     3 MILES EAST OF PLEASANT GAP AT 550 AM EDT
     9 MILES EAST OF PLEASANT GAP AT 600 AM EDT

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA.

LAT...LON 4095 7764 4084 7774 4079 7792 4076 7821
   >       4096 7826 4105 7791

NICOSIA

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 25, 3:35 AM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 3:35 AM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
335 AM EDT MON MAY 25 1998

...WRKZNS SENT TO NWSFO/S PIT AND PHL VIA PHLADMCTP...

...DISCUSSION...
SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA WORKG INTO CNTRL/SRN PA IN ASSCTN WITH LL
THETA-E ADVTN IN ADVANCE OF WELL-DEFINED UPR LVL SHRT WAVE OVR THE
ERN LAKES. SCTRD SHRA/TSRA WERE FIRING CLSE TO THE GRADIENT OF 850
MB THETA-E CLSE TO THE LL WRM FRNT. AS THIS WAVE PASSES TO THE E...
IT WILL ALLOW A LL THETA-E RDG TO BECOME ESTABLISHED ACROSS
CNTRL/ERN PA THIS AM AS THE WRM FRNT PASSES THRU PA. THUS... SCTRD
SHRA/TSRA WILL CONT DURG THE ERLY AM HOURS ACRS CNTRL PA. THINK THIS
ACVTY WILL DIE DOWN AFTER SUNRISE AS BNDRY LYR HEATING AND GROWTH
BEGIN TO DISRUPT THE NOCTURNALLY ENHANCED LL INFLO OF THESE STORMS.

ANTHR UPR LVL WAVE WAS CLEARLY SEEN OVR SRN MINN/IA THIS AM. THIS
FEATURE IS PROGGED TO SLIDE E REACHING THIS ERN LAKES BY 0000
UTC THIS EVE. THIS FEATURE WILL BE THE IMPETUS TO PUSH A CD FRNT
THRU PA WITH STRG LL DRY ADVECTION TAKING PLACE. THE LL THETA-E RDG
OVR PA IS PUSHED TO THE E BY THIS EVE AS A RESULT. THE AMS BECOMES
SOMEWHAT UNSTBL BY AFTRN... ESP FM THE SUS VLLY EWRD. THINK THIS
NEXT WAVE WILL FORCE THE NEXT ROUND OF ACVTY FOR CWA SO KEPT CHC
POPS IN ZONES ALL DAY TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS AM/S ACVTY AND THE
EXPECTED RESURGENCE OF SHRA/TSRA THIS AFTRN. THINK SOME OF THIS
ACVTY BLEEDS OVR INTO THE EVE HOURS IN ERN ZONES.

WINDS FIELDS WILL BE RATHER POTENT THIS AFTRN AS AN 850 MB JET WORKS
THRU PA. MID-LVL WINDS WILL BE ROARING UP TO 50 KTS OR GREATER. WITH
PLENTY OF MID-UPR LVL DRY AIR AVBL AS PER WV CHANNEL... THINK PTNL
EXISTS FOR SOME STRG TO SVR STORMS MAINLY FOR ERN PA THIS AFTRN/EVE.

AFTER THIS SECOND UPR LVL WAVE PASSES TONIGHT COOLER DRIER AIR
PRESSES S INTO PA. THEN... A THIRD SHRT WAVE SEEN OVR CO ATTM MOVES
INTO THE PICTURE. THIS WAVE REACHES THE MID-WEST BY LATE MON NGT AS
AN ANTHR IMPRESSIVE UPR LVL WAVE DROPS S FM CANADA. THE COMBINATION
OF THESE TWO WAVES WILL CREATE A STRG JET STREAK OVR THE NERN U.S.
THIS WILL LEAD A FRONTOGENETICALLY ACTIVE REGION N OF THE SFC BNDRY
WHICH WILL RESIDE SOMEWHERE OVR THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES MON NGT
SUGGESTIVE OF SOME POST FRONTAL LIGHT RAINS. ETA FGEN FIELDS SHWG
SOME FGEN FRCG FOR SRN PA MON NGT AND INTO ERLY TUE FOR SERN ZONES.
THUS HV LO CHC POPS MON NGT SRN ZONES WITH SOME POPS BLEEDING OVR
INTO TUE AM IN THE LWR SUS VLLY. REST OF ZONES DRY TONIGHT/TUE GIVEN
STRG LL CAA AND DRY ADVECTION.

NICOSIA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 5:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre	63 min
May 25, 5:42 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre	58 min
May 25, 6:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Mifflin, Snyder	50 min
May 25, 6:43 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Snyder	17 min
May 25, 7:30 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Schuylkill	30 min
May 25, 7:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Tioga	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1998 Every 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.