Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 40, NWS State College, PA

May 25, 1998Tioga County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 1998, 7:45 AM EDT for Tioga County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 35 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 25, 1998, 7:45 AM EDT (11:45 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 1998, 8:20 AM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Tioga County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:45 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 175 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-05-25Temperature 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1998-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2617 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
147 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.

206 
WUUS01 KCTP 251143 RRA
SVRCTP
PAC117-251220-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
745 AM EDT MON MAY 25 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN TIOGA COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 820 AM EDT

* AT 743 AM EDT... STATE COLLEGE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL IN THE VICINITY OF MANSFIELD MOVING
  EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  COVINGTON                      BY 746 AM EDT
  MILLERTON                      BY 750 AM EDT
  GLEASON                        BY 810 AM EDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

NICOSIA/LA CORTE

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, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 3:35 AM EDT, 4 hours 10 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 5:05 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Clearfield55 min
May 25, 5:37 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre63 min
May 25, 5:42 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre58 min
May 25, 6:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMifflin, Snyder50 min
May 25, 6:43 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSnyder17 min
May 25, 7:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSchuylkill30 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.