Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 63, NWS State College, PA

September 16, 1999Adams County, Cumberland County, Perry County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 16, 1999, 9:00 AM EDT for Adams County, Cumberland County, Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 6 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 16, 1999, 9:00 AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 1999, 3:00 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Adams County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 179 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 1999-09-16Temperature 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1999-09-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 131 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
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
268 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.

000 
TTAA00 KCTP 161307
FFWCTP
PAC001-041-043-071-075-099-107-133-161900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
900 AM EDT THU SEP 16 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  YORK COUNTY.
  PERRY COUNTY.
  LEBANON COUNTY.
  DAUPHIN COUNTY.
  CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
  SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.
  ADAMS COUNTY.
  LANCASTER COUNTY.

* UNTIL 300 PM EDT.

* AT 900 AM EDT...HEAVY RAIN FROM HURRICANE FLOYD CONTINUED TO MOVE 
NORTH INTO THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY REGION. SPOTTER REPORTS AND 
RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE NEARLY 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN SPOTS 
IN THE PAST 24 HOURS.

* ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING AND INTO 
THE AFTERNOON HOURS. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE 
BEFORE THE RAIN TAPERS OFF TONIGHT.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS
AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES.

SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL FLOOD...POSSIBLY WASHING OUT ROADS AND
FLOODING NEARBY LOW AREAS.

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/ JUNG

LAT...LON 4021 7608 3977 7620 3977 7738 4031 7762
          4056 7714 4067 7657 4089 7617 4085 7606
          4075 7587 4050 7649

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 16, 1:58 AM EDT, 7 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 16, 1:58 AM EDT, 7 hours 2 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
200 AM PM EDT THU SEP 16 1999

IN CONTRAST TO LAST NIGHT THE ETA AND NGM ARE NOW IN PRETTY DECENT
AGREEMENT ON THE MOVEMENT OF FLOYD. THE NGM IS A BIT FASTER AND
FARTHER WEST THAN THE ETA...BUT NOT ENOUGH OF A DIFFERENCE TO MAKE
MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IN THE FORECAST FOR CENTRAL PA. WILL GO WITH THE
IDEA THAT FLOYD MOVES ACROSS EASTERN NC THIS MORNING THEN NE JUST
OFFSHORE TOWARD LONG ISLAND THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

LOTS OF ISSUES WITH THIS FORECAST. FIRST IS THE RAIN AMOUNTS. WITH A
TRACK JUST OFFSHORE HAVE A HARD TIME SEEING FLOODING RAINS BACK HERE
IN THE CENTRAL COUNTIES. MODEL FORECAST AMOUNTS IN THE CENTRAL
COUNTIES ARE AROUND HALF AN INCH TO AN INCH. ONE CONCERN IS HEAVY
RAIN THAT HAS BEEN FALLING EARLY THIS MORNING PRETTY FAR WEST IN
VA...WHICH THE MODELS HAVE BEEN UNDERDONE WITH. STILL...DONT EXPECT
THE OVER 3 INCH RAINS IN THE AOO-UNV AREA WHICH WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR
FLOODING AND WILL DROP THE WATCH IN THAT AREA. FARTHER EAST WILL
KEEP THE WATCH AS EXPECT 2 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN ANYWHERE FROM THE
SUSQ RIVER ON EAST. ETA/NGM/MM5 IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE
BACK EDGE OF THE RAIN WILL BE SOMEWHERE NEAR THE BORDER BETWEEN MY
CWA AND PITS. CURRENT FORECAST HAS THAT IDEA SO WILL MAKE NO BIG
ADJUSTMENTS OVER THE WEST.

ANOTHER ISSUE WILL BE WIND SPEEDS. A HIGH WIND WATCH IS CURRENTLY IN
EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN PART OF THE CWA. WITH THE STORM PASSING OFF
TO THE WEST ALL OF THE CWA WILL BE IN THE COLD SECTOR OF THIS STORM
WHICH WILL CUT DOWN ON WIND SPEEDS. DONT EXPECT 40 MPH + SUSTAINED
WINDS ANYWHERE UNLESS THE TRACK OF THE STORM IS MUCH FARTHER WEST
THAN EXPECTED. WILL GO WITH A WIND ADVISORY FOR SUSTAINED SPEEDS
AROUND 30 MPH OVER THE EAST. HERE IN THE RIDGE AND VALLEY AREA
EXPECT SPEEDS OF MORE LIKE 15 TO 20 MPH...20 TO 30 MPH OVER THE
LAUREL HIGHLANDS. SPEAKING OF BEING IN THE COLD SECTOR...WILL GO
WELL BELOW MOS VALUES FOR HIGHS TODAY IN THE SUSQ VALLEY.

RAIN WILL TAPER OFF AND END FAIRLY QUICKLY FROM SW TO NE TONIGHT AS
FLOYD MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. EXPECT A PARTLY SUNNY DAY WITH THE
MOST SUNSHINE SE OF THE MTNS AND NW WINDS GUSTING TO 30 MPH.

.CTP...FFA FOR THE EASTERN THIRD OF THE CWA TODAY.
       WIND ADVISORY FOR THE SE QUARTER OF THE CWA TODAY.

MSE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 9:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPDauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill6 hr
Sep 16, 9:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLancaster, York6 hr
Sep 16, 2:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, York7 hr
Sep 16, 2:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPPerry7 hr
Sep 16, 2:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLebanon, Schuylkill7 hr
Sep 16, 4:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPColumbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Union3 hr
Sep 16, 4:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPSnyder3 hr
Sep 16, 7:30 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPSnyder, Union90 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.