Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999
Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 20, 1999, 2:03 PM EDT for McKean County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls 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.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 20, 1999, 2:03 PM EDT (18:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 20, 1999, 6:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County McKean County, PA
The nearest sounding before it
Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 123 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 723 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 118 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 170 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCTP 201807 FFWCTP PAC083-202200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 203 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... MCKEAN COUNTY. * UNTIL 600 PM EDT. * AT 202 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER BRADFORD. ADDED STORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER EASTERN WARREN COUNTY AND WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA. HEAVY RAINS FROM LAST NIGHT SATURATED SOILS IN THE AREA...AND FLOODING SHOULD BEGIN QUITE RAPIDLY. THE HEAVY RAIN IN THESE THUNDERSTORMS...COMBINED WITH THEIR SLOW MOVEMENT AND THE FORMATION OF ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM IS INCREASING THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS SITUATION. BE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF FLOODING BECOMES MORE DANGEROUS. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. .END/ DUNHAM LAT...LON 4190 7885 4166 7891 4166 7824 4201 7831
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Aug 20, 1:45 PM EDT, 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 1:45 PM EDT, 18 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 145 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 1999 BUSY MORNING...AS PV LOBE MET UP W/AREA OF OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT TO CONTINUALLY REGENERATE TSRA W/BIG PCPN NUMS OV MID SUSQ VLY. WE GOT OUR SERVICE HYDROLOGISTS/ FEET WET TODAY...AS THE DROUGHT HAS PRECLUDED ANY FLOODING PROBLEMS AS OF LATE. RDR TRENDS CONT TO DEVLP SHRA/TSRA OV CENT PA (ESP JUST TO S OF STC ON TUSSEY MTN)... AND PUSHING MOD RAFL INTO NE PA ATTM. ALL MDLS COMING TOGETHER ON THE OPEN WAVE SCENARIO...FINALLY. AXIS OF HEAVIEST PCPN TO FALL IN NW/SE ORIENTED LINE JUST TO N AND E OF AREAS W/PROBLEMS NOW. UGH. THE PIVOT OF BIG TIME QPFS ON MOST OF THE MDLS RIGHT OV THAT REGION...AND THUS...FFA MAY BE NEEDED FOR TONIGHT INTO SAT. STORM MOTION VECTORS CONT TO BE VERY SLIGHT TO THE N&E. PWS WL RIDE NEAR 2...BUT POSSIBLE TROPICAL CONNECTION NOT ACCOUNTED FOR IN THIS CALC. SPC JUST PERKED UP TO THESE SLOW MOVERS...HPC MENTIONED IT YSTDY IN PERSONAL CONVERSATION - GOOD DEAL NCEP WL HOLD THE FFA JUST N OF MDT AT THIS TIME...BUT INCLUDE UNV AND BFD- WHERE MUCHO WATER HAS ALREADY FALLEN. SINCE MDLS ARE COMING TOGETHER...RIGHT NOW...OVER ME...I WL ROLL WITH THE FLOW. TAPERING POPS IN OUR SWRN COS AND KEEPING MENTION OF TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS IN PLACES FM UNV N&E. WON/T GET TOO WORDY WITH DETAILS OF FCST NOW OTHER THAN TO SAY THINGS LOOK TO TAPER OFF W/ ONLY WRAP AROUND LEFT BY SAT NITE. XTNDD THOUGHTS: PUT IN MENTION OF SHRA ON MON...AND LEAVE TUE/WED AS FAIR WORDINGS. WORK ZONE WIBIS BY 330 PM...AS TIME IS TIGHT THIS AFTN. .CTP...FFA TONGIGHT AND SAT FOR NRN MTNS AND MID/UPR SUSQ VLYS. DANGELO
The office that day
Everything else NWS State College, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 10:18 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Northumberland, Snyder, Union | 4 hr |
| Aug 20, 10:18 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Montour | 4 hr |
| Aug 20, 11:25 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Juniata | 3 hr |
| Aug 20, 2:05 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Juniata, Northumberland, Snyder | 3 hr |
| Aug 20, 2:05 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Montour | 3 hr |
| Aug 20, 2:05 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Union | 3 hr |
| Aug 20, 2:09 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | McKean | 66 min |
| Aug 20, 2:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | McKean | 66 min |
| Aug 20, 3:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield, Elk | 57 min |
| Aug 20, 5:15 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Juniata, Snyder | 5 hr |
| Aug 20, 5:15 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | Union | 5 hr |
| Aug 20, 5:50 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CTP | McKean | 4 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999
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.