Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 13, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 8:45 PM EDT for Bedford County, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 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 31, 1998, 8:45 PM EDT (00:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 1998, 9:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Bedford County, PA, Somerset County, PA
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:48 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 31, 8:50 PM EDT | Tornado F3 | Salisbury, PA | The tornado touched down just east of Mt. Davis and traveled east-southeast into downtown Salisbury. The storm then continued eastward for 8 miles ending east of the town of Pocahontas. The tornado was rated as an F2 (113 to 157 mph) through the town of Salisb |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 6:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 110 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
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -334 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1772 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 93 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 223 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
884
WFUS01 KCTP 010047 RRA
TORCTP
PAC009-111-010145-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
845 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
SOUTHERN SOMERSET AND WESTERN BEDFORD COUNTIES IN PENNSYLVANIA
INCLUDING SOMERSET...MEYERSDALE AND BEDFORD
* UNTIL 945 PM EDT
* AT 842 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
ROCKWOOD...OR ABOUT 12 MILES WEST OF MEYERSDALE...MOVING EAST AT
50 MILES PER HOUR.
* TORNADO WILL BE...
5 MILES WEST OF MEYERSDALE AT 850 PM EDT
3 MILES EAST OF MEYERSDALE AT 900 PM EDT
4 MILES WEST OF HYNDMAN AT 910 PM EDT
9 MILES EAST OF HYNDMAN AT 925 PM EDT
16 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BEDFORD AT 940 PM EDT
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
LA CORTE
LAT...LON 3981 7942 3967 7925 3973 7842 4006 7848
4002 7923The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 8:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Lebanon | 35 min |
| May 31, 8:12 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Clinton, Potter | 78 min |
| May 31, 8:22 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Somerset | 38 min |
| May 31, 8:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre | 91 min |
| May 31, 8:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lycoming | 91 min |
| May 31, 8:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster, York | 34 min |
| May 31, 9:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Union | 89 min |
| May 31, 9:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Sullivan | 89 min |
| May 31, 9:32 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Bedford | 28 min |
| May 31, 9:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cambria, Somerset | 60 min |
| May 31, 9:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Blair | 60 min |
| May 31, 9:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Fulton | 29 min |
| May 31, 10:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Franklin | 56 min |
| May 31, 10:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Bedford | 66 min |
| May 31, 10:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Bedford | 66 min |
| May 31, 10:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Huntingdon | 62 min |
| May 31, 10:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Fulton | 38 min |
| May 31, 11:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Franklin | 48 min |
| May 31, 11:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Adams, Cumberland | 64 min |
| May 31, 11:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Dauphin, York | 93 min |
| Jun 1, 12:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster | 76 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.