Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 8, NWS State College, PA
NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 13, 1999, 4:56 PM EDT for Cambria County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 34 min. 2 reports 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
- Aug 13, 1999, 4:56 PM EDT (20:56 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 13, 1999, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS State College, PA
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Cambria County, PA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 5:05 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Patton, PA | Downburst winds struck Prince Gallitzin State Park on late afternoon of Friday the 13th, crossing the heart of the campground area in the park. Hundreds of trees were blown down by the strong winds, damaging trucks, cars, tents, and campers. A 20-year old ma |
| Aug 13, 5:10 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Spangler, PA | Trees were downed. |
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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 125 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
- 1633 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 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 132100 RRA TORCTP PAC021-132130- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 456 PM EDT FRI AUG 13 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHEASTERN CAMBRIA COUNTY. * UNTIL 530 PM EDT. * AT 447 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER SPANGLER...OR ABOUT 11 MILES NORTH OF EBENSBURG...M&OVING EAST AT 25 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... CHEST SPRINGS...PATTON AT 505 PM EDT. GO TO A BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. .END/ GRUMM LAT...LON 4069 7882 4055 7879 4058 7845 4075 7840
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 Aug 13, 3:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 3:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 325 PM EDT FRI AUG 13 1999 LINES OF SCATTERED TSRA NOW FORMING BACK IN W PA AND OHIO. WILL PROBABLY SEE SOME ACTIVITY FIRE AND COME INTO WEST PA THIS EVENING THEN WEAKEN BEFORE REACHING CENTRAL PA. MOST MODELS INITIALIZED TOO WET...BUT LAST FEW RUNS OF MM5 HAVE BEEN CLOSER TO REALITY. WILL LOWER POPS FOR TONIGHT TO CHC AND WORD AS MAINLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. SATURDAY WILL FEATURE MORE WIDESPREAD PRECIP AS SW TROF AXIS AND VORT MOVE THRU...WITH MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATING PLENTY OF DEEP MOISTURE AND INSTABILTY TO BE TAPPED. WIND PROFILES ALSO SUGGEST SVR POTENTIAL. WILL HAVE LIKELY POPS ALL ZONES. HEAVY RAIN AND POTENTIAL FOR SVR WILL MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING DAY. MOST SIG PRECIP SHUD BE EAST OF CTP CWA BY SAT EVE...WITH SHRA LINGERING THRU OVERNIGHT PERIOD IN EAST ZONES. THINGS DRY OUT FOR SUN...WITH MODERATING TEMPS INTO MIDWEEK. .CTP...NONE. OSTUNO/ SCALIO
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 13, 11:53 AM EDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024-025-033-037-041-045-046-132200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1153 AM EDT FRI AUG 13 1999 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE REGION FROM THE MIDWEST WILL TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME LOCALLY SEVERE...CAUSING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...OR YOUR FAVORITE TV OR RADIO STATION... FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS. .END/ OSTUNO/ SCALIO ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE STATE COLLEGE WEBSITE AT: HTTP://BOOKEND.MET.PSU.EDU (ALL LOWER CASE)
Special weather statement, Aug 13, 11:53 AM EDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024-025-033-037-041-045-046-132200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1153 AM EDT FRI AUG 13 1999 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE REGION FROM THE MIDWEST WILL TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME LOCALLY SEVERE...CAUSING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...OR YOUR FAVORITE TV OR RADIO STATION... FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS. .END/ OSTUNO/ SCALIO ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE STATE COLLEGE WEBSITE 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 4:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clearfield | 53 min |
| Aug 13, 4:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Cambria | 64 min |
| Aug 13, 4:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Centre, Clinton | 86 min |
| Aug 13, 4:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Blair | 65 min |
| Aug 13, 5:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Huntingdon | 57 min |
| Aug 13, 5:39 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lycoming, Union | 66 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.