Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS State College, PA

May 12, 2000Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 12, 2000, 7:56 PM EDT for Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 49 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
May 12, 2000, 7:56 PM EDT (23:56 UTC)
Expired
May 12, 2000, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Lycoming County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 12, 8:10 PM EDTHail 1.25Williamsport, PA

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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 214 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2000-05-12Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2000-05-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 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
2093 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
210 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.

786 
WUUS51 KCTP 122356
SVRCTP
PAC081-130045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
756 PM EDT FRI MAY 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN LYCOMING COUNTY.

* UNTIL 845 PM EDT.

* AT 755 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTH OF WILLIAMSPORT...OR ABOUT 2
  MILES NORTHEAST OF GARDEN VIEW...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  MONTOURSVILLE AT 805 PM.
  HUGHESVILLE AND MUNCY AT 820 PM.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. STAY
INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

.END/

LAT...LON 4140 7702 4127 7719 4112 7701 4119 7661

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 12, 3:15 PM EDT, 4 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 3:15 PM EDT, 4 hours 41 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
315 PM EDT FRI MAY 12 2000

HERE WE GO.  A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS CURRENTLY SKIRTING
ACROSS THE NY/PA BORDER.  OTHERWISE...THE CAP OVER PA IS HOLDING
DOWN ADDITIONAL CONVECTION.  THE CAP WILL BEGIN TO BREAK TO OUR WEST
BY EARLY EVENING AND GOOD INSTABILITY WILL FINALLY BE TAPPED.
HIGHEST RISK WILL BE IN THE WEST THIS EVENING BEHIND WARM FRONT AS
VERY MOIST AIR BRINGS NEGATIVE LI/S AND DECENT SHEAR.  WILL SEND OUT
A QUICK SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT TO MENTION THE SEVERE POTENTIAL
THIS EVENING IN THE WEST.

MCS DEVELOPING OVER MI MAY REACH CENTRAL PA LATER TONIGHT.  500MB
HEIGHT AND 1000-500MB THICKNESS INDICATE THIS CLUSTER WILL TRACK
TOWARD NW PA AS IT DIMINISHES.  KEPT HIGH POPS IN THE N TONIGHT AND
A LOW CHANCE ALL THE WAY TO THE LOWER SUSQ VALLEY.

A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION TOMORROW...IN THE LATE MORNING
FOR THE WEST AND IN THE MID AFTERNOON FOR THE EAST.  SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN LIKELY AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS VERY MOIST AIR
REMAINS IN PLACE.  A GOOD CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS IN THE EAST SAT
AFTERNOON.  TIMING OF FRONT WILL ALLOW MAX HEATING...AND INSTABILITY
AND WIND SHEAR WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY.  SPC HAS E PA IN
SLIGHT RISK SAT.  WILL NOT ADD MENTION OF SEVERE TO ZONES YET...BUT
MID SHIFT WILL NEED TO ADDRESS IT.

BY SAT NIGHT THE FRONT PUSHES EAST OF THE CWA.  JUST A CHANCE OF AN
EVENING THUNDERSTORM IN THE EXTREME E FRI BEFORE SKIES GO PARTLY
CLOUDY AND COOLER AIR BEGINS TO FILTER IN.  SAT THROUGH WED WEATHER
WILL BE DOMINATED BY A GREAT LAKES TROUGH.  MENTIONED A CHANCE OF A
SHOWER EARLY MONDAY ACROSS THE NORTH...OTHERWISE DRY AND COOL
THROUGH THE PERIOD.

.CTP...NONE.

RXR

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 12, 3:57 PM EDT, 3 hours 59 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>026-033>035-130100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
357 PM EDT FRI MAY 12 2000

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...

THE PASSAGE OF A WARM FRONT EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON HAS ALLOWED WARMER
AND MORE HUMID AIR TO MOVE INTO THE REGION. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THIS WARM AND HUMID AIR DURING THE EVENING
HOURS...MAINLY WEST OF A COUDERSPORT...TO STATE COLLEGE...TO
CHAMBERSBURG LINE. A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT FORM WILL HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORKS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS EVENING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 12, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPTioga65 min
May 12, 5:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPPotter, Tioga59 min
May 12, 6:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLycoming66 min
May 12, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPPotter35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2000Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.