Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 1, NWS State College, PA

July 1, 1999Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 1999, 6:33 PM EDT for Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 37 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
Jul 1, 1999, 6:33 PM EDT (22:33 UTC)
Expired
Jul 1, 1999, 7:10 PM EDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Lycoming County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:32 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 1, 7:00 PM EDTTornado F0Bodines, PAA small tornado touched down on McNamie Hill Road about 3 miles east of Bodines near Kellysburg. The storm sheared off about 50 to 75 trees along a 1/2 mile path. a resident on McNamie Hill Road reported seeing debris from the trees being swept in a circle a

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

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 217 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 1999-07-01Temperature 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 1999-07-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 65 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
1291 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
108 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 012235 RRA
TORCTP
PAC081-012310-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
633 PM EDT THU JUL 1 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LYCOMING COUNTY.

* UNTIL 710 PM EDT.

* AT 627 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER CENTRAL LYCOMING
  COUNTY...OR ABOUT 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF WILLIAMSPORT...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  TROUT RUN AT 635 PM EDT.
  CALVERT AT 640 PM EDT.
  BARBOURS AT 650 PM EDT.

GO TO A BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR UNTIL 
THE STORM HAS PASSED.

.ENDJ/DANGELO

LAT...LON 4137 7728 4124 7710 4144 7676 4156 7690

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Jul 1, 2:50 PM EDT, 3 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 2:50 PM EDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
250 PM EDT THU JUL 01 1999

STORMS FIRING ATTM IN CONVERGENCE ZONE OVER LAURELS...WITH MAIN AREA
OF ACTION STILL BACK OVER OHIO. A BREAK IN THE ACTION IN BETWEEN
THESE TWO AREAS...DEPICTED WELL BY MODELS. HAVE PUT CAT POPS IN
FIRST PERIOD EVERYWHERE EXCEPT LOWER SUSQ. SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS
LIKELY...BUT DECIDED TO SAVE THAT WORDING FOR SITE SPECIFIC
NOWCASTS. SAME FOR HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. KCCX VWP HAS 40 KTS AT
AROUND 10KFT. FZNG LEVEL AROUND 15KFT SHUD LIMIT HAIL SIZE.

LOOKS LIKE BACK EDGE OF PRECIP CLEARS MOST OF CTP CWA DURING FRI
AFT...WITH POPS DECREASING RAPIDLY AFT 15Z OR SO. CONSIDERED PUTTING
CHC POPS BACK IN FOR SAT...BUT PRECLUDED BY LOW CONFIDENCE AT THIS
POINT IN WEAK SYSTEMS BEING ABLE TO OVERCOME BUILDING RIDGE.

THE FOURTH LOOKS HOT AS A FIRECRACKER...WITH OPPRESIVE DEW POINTS TO
BOOT. HOPE PROGGED SUPRESSION OF THE BIG H5 RIDGE BY MID WEEK
VERIFIES TO BRING SOME RELIEF.

.CTP...NONE.

OSTUNO

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 1, 4:30 PM EDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017-018-024-025-033-034-037-020300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
430 PM EDT THU JUL 1 1999

...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
EVENING AND EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND
LAUREL HIGHLANDS...

...DETAILS...
A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM OVER OHIO WILL BE PUSHING THUNDERSTORMS
INTO PENNSYLVANIA LATER THIS EVENING.

WARM AND HUMID AIR IS SPREADING INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND
LAUREL HIGHLANDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. THE LINE OF STORMS IN OHIO IS
MOVING TO THE EAST...SPURRED ON BY COOLER AIR ALOFT. THIS COMBINATION
OF WARM...HUMID AIR AT THE SURFACE AND COOLER AIR ALOFT WILL TRIGGER
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA ARE IN ADVANCE
OF THIS MAIN LINE OF STORMS...AND DO NOT HAVE THE INSTABILITY NEEDED
TO BECOME SEVERE AT THIS TIME. THEY ARE CURRENTLY PRODUCING HEAVY
RAIN IN SPOTS...AND ONLY BRIEF WIND GUSTS OVER 30 MPH.

THE MAIN LINE OF STORMS DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE.
THIS LINE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST DURING THE LATE
EVENING AND CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT. SOME OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS COULD CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS STILL POSSIBLE.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE
SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION...FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND
STATEMENTS ON THIS POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION.

.END/DANGELO

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT:
HTTP://BOOKEND.MET.PSU.EDU  (ALL LOWER CASE)
Special weather statement, Jul 1, 4:30 PM EDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017-018-024-025-033-034-037-020300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
430 PM EDT THU JUL 1 1999

...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
EVENING AND EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND
LAUREL HIGHLANDS...

...DETAILS...
A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM OVER OHIO WILL BE PUSHING THUNDERSTORMS
INTO PENNSYLVANIA LATER THIS EVENING.

WARM AND HUMID AIR IS SPREADING INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND
LAUREL HIGHLANDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. THE LINE OF STORMS IN OHIO IS
MOVING TO THE EAST...SPURRED ON BY COOLER AIR ALOFT. THIS COMBINATION
OF WARM...HUMID AIR AT THE SURFACE AND COOLER AIR ALOFT WILL TRIGGER
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA ARE IN ADVANCE
OF THIS MAIN LINE OF STORMS...AND DO NOT HAVE THE INSTABILITY NEEDED
TO BECOME SEVERE AT THIS TIME. THEY ARE CURRENTLY PRODUCING HEAVY
RAIN IN SPOTS...AND ONLY BRIEF WIND GUSTS OVER 30 MPH.

THE MAIN LINE OF STORMS DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE.
THIS LINE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST DURING THE LATE
EVENING AND CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT. SOME OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS COULD CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS STILL POSSIBLE.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE
SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION...FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND
STATEMENTS ON THIS POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION.

.END/DANGELO

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT:
HTTP://BOOKEND.MET.PSU.EDU  (ALL LOWER CASE)

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford46 min
Jul 1, 5:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFulton51 min
Jul 1, 6:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin55 min
Jul 1, 6:50 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPSullivan55 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.