Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 8, 1998, 4:28 PM EDT for Beaver County, Pennsylvania; Hancock County, West Virginia. It was in force for 62 min. 3 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 8, 1998, 4:28 PM EDT (20:28 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 8, 1998, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 62 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Beaver County, PA, Hancock County, WV
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:32 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 8, 4:30 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Chester, WV | |
| Apr 8, 4:45 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Midland, PA | |
| Apr 8, 5:00 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Harshaville, PA | Thunderstorm winds blew several large trees down. |
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 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 37 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
- 19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 824 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 216 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 8, 11:20 AM EDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before
MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-091000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT -SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1120 AM EDT WED APR 8 1998 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH SAYS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH SIZABLE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS THE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION OF EAST CENTRAL OHIO... EXTREME NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...AND EXTREME WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA... AND EXTREME WESTERN MARYLAND. THERE MAY BE HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF RAIN LATE TONIGHT AND ON THURSDAY. A LINE OF STORMS...ORIENTED NORTH TO SOUTH...MAY DEVELOP ACROSS OHIO THIS EVENING. IF SUCH A LINE WERE TO DEVELOP...IT WOULD MOVE EAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HAIL LARGER THAN HALF AN INCH AND FOR WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 45 MPH. ANY RAIN AND LIGHTNING EPISODES WILL BE BRIEF. SO RAIN AMOUNTS WILL BE GENERALLY LIMITED TO A QUARTER INCH. LATE TONIGHT OR DURING THURSDAY...THERE IS MORE OF A POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS. IN FACT RAIN AMOUNTS MAY EXCEED 1 INCH IN LESS THAN A 6 HOUR PERIOD. SOIL AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT AREAS GETTING OVER 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN 6-12 HOURS CAN BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND ALONG SMALL STREAMS. IF THESE RAIN AMOUNTS ARE WIDESPREAD... THE LARGER RIVERS CAN SHOW SHARP RISES. DURING THIS POTENTIAL EPISODE OF HEAVIER RAIN...THE POTENTIAL FOR SIZABLE HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS CANNOT BE RULED OUT. ...WEATHER EXPLANATION... THIS EVENINGS POTENTIAL WILL BE DUE TO UNSTABLE AIR SOUTH OF AN EAST- WEST ORIENTED WARM FRONT THAT IS MOVING NORTH ACROSS OHIO AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. LATE TONIGHT...A LOW PRESSURE CENTER FROM ILLINOIS WILL MOVE EAST ALONG THIS WARM FRONT...AND MOVE THROUGH WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA MIDDAY THURSDAY. EPISODES OF HEAVIER RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRECEDE AND ACCOMPANY THE PASSAGE OF THIS LOW PRESSURE CENTER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION. CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/PIT GIORDANO
Special weather statement, Apr 8, 11:20 AM EDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before
MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-091000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT -SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1120 AM EDT WED APR 8 1998 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH SAYS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH SIZABLE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS THE OHIO HEADWATERS REGION OF EAST CENTRAL OHIO... EXTREME NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...AND EXTREME WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA... AND EXTREME WESTERN MARYLAND. THERE MAY BE HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF RAIN LATE TONIGHT AND ON THURSDAY. A LINE OF STORMS...ORIENTED NORTH TO SOUTH...MAY DEVELOP ACROSS OHIO THIS EVENING. IF SUCH A LINE WERE TO DEVELOP...IT WOULD MOVE EAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HAIL LARGER THAN HALF AN INCH AND FOR WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 45 MPH. ANY RAIN AND LIGHTNING EPISODES WILL BE BRIEF. SO RAIN AMOUNTS WILL BE GENERALLY LIMITED TO A QUARTER INCH. LATE TONIGHT OR DURING THURSDAY...THERE IS MORE OF A POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS. IN FACT RAIN AMOUNTS MAY EXCEED 1 INCH IN LESS THAN A 6 HOUR PERIOD. SOIL AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT AREAS GETTING OVER 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN 6-12 HOURS CAN BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND ALONG SMALL STREAMS. IF THESE RAIN AMOUNTS ARE WIDESPREAD... THE LARGER RIVERS CAN SHOW SHARP RISES. DURING THIS POTENTIAL EPISODE OF HEAVIER RAIN...THE POTENTIAL FOR SIZABLE HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS CANNOT BE RULED OUT. ...WEATHER EXPLANATION... THIS EVENINGS POTENTIAL WILL BE DUE TO UNSTABLE AIR SOUTH OF AN EAST- WEST ORIENTED WARM FRONT THAT IS MOVING NORTH ACROSS OHIO AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON. LATE TONIGHT...A LOW PRESSURE CENTER FROM ILLINOIS WILL MOVE EAST ALONG THIS WARM FRONT...AND MOVE THROUGH WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA MIDDAY THURSDAY. EPISODES OF HEAVIER RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRECEDE AND ACCOMPANY THE PASSAGE OF THIS LOW PRESSURE CENTER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION. CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/PIT GIORDANO
The office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 3:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Coshocton | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 3:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Tuscarawas | 42 min |
| Apr 8, 3:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Belmont | 45 min |
| Apr 8, 3:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Harrison | 69 min |
| Apr 8, 4:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Columbiana | 53 min |
| Apr 8, 4:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Jefferson | 45 min |
| Apr 8, 4:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Washington | 61 min |
| Apr 8, 4:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Jefferson | 52 min |
| Apr 8, 4:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Allegheny | 60 min |
| Apr 8, 4:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Mercer | 54 min |
| Apr 8, 5:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Washington | 40 min |
| Apr 8, 5:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Westmoreland | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 5:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Westmoreland | 44 min |
| Apr 8, 5:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Armstrong | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 5:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Indiana | 53 min |
| Apr 8, 5:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Westmoreland | 40 min |
| Apr 8, 3:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Marshall, Ohio | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 4:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Brooke | 28 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1998Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 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.