Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS State College, PA

September 6, 1999Lancaster County, York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 6, 1999, 4:17 PM EDT for Lancaster County, York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 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
Sep 6, 1999, 4:17 PM EDT (20:17 UTC)
Expired
Sep 6, 1999, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Lancaster County, PA, York County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 134 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1999-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 401 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1999-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 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
401 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
781 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 062022
FFWCTP
PAC071-133-062315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
417 PM EDT MON SEP 6 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN YORK COUNTY.
  WESTERN LANCASTER COUNTY.

* UNTIL 715 PM EDT.

* AT 413 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL FROM ABOUT        
  COLUMBIA TO SUNNYBURN. THE STORMS ARE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

* THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING VERY SLOWLY OVER THE 
  REGION THROUGH 5 PM...CAUSING LOCALIZED FLOODING.

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/ LA CORTE

LAT...LON 3974 7657 3972 7621 4027 7618 4010 7675

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 Sep 6, 2:50 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 2:50 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
250 PM EDT MON SEP 6 1999

A FEW THUNDERSTORMS BEGINNING TO SHOW ROTATION...SO MAY HAVE TO CUT
THIS A LITTLE SHORT.

NOT QUITE THE WASHOUT IT APPEARED IT WOULD BE TODAY...BUT RAIN IS
DEFINITELY ON THE WAY.  DRY SLOT HUNG TOUGH ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF
OF PA THIS AFTERNOON.  BUT DENNIS REMNANTS TAPPING INTO A DEEP MOIST
TONGUE EXTENDING FROM S PA TO THE CAROLINA COAST.  THIS MOIST TONGUE
WILL SPREAD OVER CENTRAL PA TONIGHT BRINGING CATEGORICAL POPS FOR
MOST.

WITH THE EFFICIENCY OF TROPICAL SYSTEMS FOR PRODUCING RAIN...ADDED
TO UPSLOPE SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW...THE REGION COULD SEE RAINFALL TOTALS
REACH FFG VALUES (2-4 IN 3 HOURS).  WILL EXTEND FLASH FLOOD WATCH
TO INCLUDE ALL OF CENTRAL PA THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.  FEEL THERE IS
REASONABLE POTENTIAL FOR MOISTURE TO WRAP WESTWARD AROUND THE CENTER
OF CIRCULATION (LIKE CURRENTLY IN THE SOUTHWEST) AS REMNANTS DRIFT
NORTH-NORTHEAST...SO WILL INCLUDE ALL NORTHERN COUNTIES NOW AS WELL.

SYSTEM MOVES INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NY STATE LATE TOMORROW MORNING...
AIDED BY A PUSH FROM A TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE MIDWEST. CATEGORICAL
RAIN FOR NORTHEASTERN PORTIONS WHILE TAPERING TO SHOWERS ELSEWHERE.
OVERNIGHT SHIFT WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS WHETHER TO EXTEND THE FLASH
FLOOD WATCH IN THE NE TOMORROW.

TROUGH SLOWLY TRAVERSES PA TUE NIGHT INTO WED.  MIGHT BE ABLE TO
SCRAPE UP A 30 POP FOR THOSE PERIODS...BUT WILL LEAVE DRY FOR NOW.

TEMPS ABOVE GUIDANCE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT WITH DAYTIME HIGHS
CLOSE TO FAN/FWC.

.CTP...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF CENTRAL PA THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

RXR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 6, 2:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria53 min
Sep 6, 2:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford60 min
Sep 6, 3:01 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton3 hr
Sep 6, 3:01 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPBedford, Cambria, Somerset3 hr
Sep 6, 3:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria48 min
Sep 6, 3:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, York64 min
Sep 6, 4:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Perry58 min

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.