Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 72, NWS State College, PA

May 24, 2000York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 2000, 2:06 PM EDT for York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 39 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
May 24, 2000, 2:06 PM EDT (18:06 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2000, 2:45 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County York County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:09 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
May 24, 2:20 PM EDTHail 1.75Bermudian, PAGolf ball sized hail at Lake Meade.
May 24, 2:40 PM EDTHail 1Thomasville, PAQuarter sized hail.

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, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 92 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 2000-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 89 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 2000-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
89 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-178 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
816 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
45 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.

624 
WUUS51 KCTP 241807
SVRCTP
PAC133-241845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
206 PM EDT WED MAY 24 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  YORK COUNTY.

* UNTIL 245 PM EDT.

* AT 205 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES WEST OF WEIGELSTOWN...OR ABOUT 5 MILES
  SOUTH OF FRANKLINTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  DOVER AT 220 PM EDT.
  SHILOH...SPRING GROVE AT 225 PM EDT.
  EMIGSVILLE...MANCHESTER AT 230 PM EDT.
  EAST YORK...GRANTLEY AT 235 PM EDT.
  WINTERSTOWN AT 250 PM EDT.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

.END/ LAMBERT/ LA CORTE

LAT...LON 4012 7707 3995 7717 3981 7662 4004 7659
          4015 7686

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 24, 9:30 AM EDT, 4 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 9:30 AM EDT, 4 hours 36 minutes before
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
930 AM EDT WED MAY 24 2000

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES. (WE/VE BEEN DOWNGRADED TO SLGT RISK
OF SVR BY SPC) BUT...THINGS ARE STILL RIPE FOR SVR DEVELOPMENT...
JUST NOT AS WIDESPREAD AN EVENT IS LIKELY AS THOUGHT B4. THE RAIN
LAST NITE HAS BROUGHT US ABUNDANT LLVL MSTR AND THE SS OUT THE
WINDOW IS HELPING TO RAPIDLY WARM US UP. WEAK TO NON-EXISTENT LLVL
JET WL NOT HELP W/CONTINUED STORM INFLOW POSSIBILITIES. ALSO...SFC
ANALYSIS SHOWS VERY LTL IN THE WAY OF EXISTING BOUNDARIES. WL HV TO
WAIT FOR A TRIGGER TO POP THINGS OFF. REAL FRONT (WHICH IS ALSO VERY
WEAK) SEEMS TO LIE FROM CHI TO STL AT 12Z PER VISB PICS AND HAND
ANALYSIS.

06Z MESOETA SOUNDINGS SEEM TO UNDERESTIMATE THE LLVL MSTR AVBL TODAY
AND THEREFORE NOT QUITE AS IMPRESSIVE AS XPCTD. ALSO THE MDLS KEEP
SFC WINDS ARE MORE W/SW FOR MOST OF THE DAY UNTIL REPONSE TO DIGGING
S/W CROSSING TO OUR NORTH THIS EVENING BRINGS WINDS AROUND TO A MORE
SRLY COMP ACRS ERN ZNS JUST AFT SUNDOWN. OVERALL...ACTION WL BE
LATER IN THE DAY INTO THE EVE AND ON TOWARD MIDNIGHT. HELLACIOUSLY
STRONG NWRLY FLOW JET (120+ KTS) AND OVERALL INSTABILITY WITH DRY
AIR AT MID LVLS KEEP US PRIMED AND...MAYBE...WAITING. WL CONTINUE
THE NEAR-SEVERE WORDS IN THE FCST...AND ADD TO THE ERN ZNS FOR THE
LATE EVENING (ERLY TONIGHT PD).

.CTP...NONE.

DANGELO

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 24, 11:00 AM EDT, 3 hours 6 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-242200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1100 AM EDT WED MAY 24 2000

...A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS OVER CENTRAL
PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A COLD FRONT OVER THE MIDWEST WILL BE CROSSING THE STATE LATE THIS
EVENING. AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...WARM AND RATHER HUMID AIR WILL
COMBINE WITH FAST WINDS ALOFT TO MAKE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR
THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER MOST OF THE
REGION. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...ESPECIALLY LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND DURING THE EVENING...CAUSING DAMAGING WINDS AND
LARGE HAIL.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR LATER
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES. SKYWARN SPOTTER
NETWORKS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED LATER TODAY.

.END/DANGELO
Special weather statement, May 24, 1:10 PM EDT, 56 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-242200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
110 PM EDT WED MAY 24 2000

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

CAMERON           CENTRE           CLINTON          COLUMBIA
LYCOMING          MONTOUR          NORTHUMBERLAND   POTTER
SULLIVAN          TIOGA            UNION

A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA LATER TODAY. THIS WILL CAUSE
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO INCREASE OVER THE REGION. SOME OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME LOCALLY SEVERE...ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR LATER
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

.END/LA CORTE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 2:58 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPWarren47 min
May 24, 12:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPElk30 min
May 24, 1:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPElk31 min
May 24, 1:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCameron29 min
May 24, 2:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Franklin38 min
May 24, 2:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPColumbia33 min
May 24, 2:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClinton59 min
May 24, 2:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre57 min
May 24, 2:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams57 min
May 24, 2:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPYork67 min
May 24, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClinton20 min
May 24, 3:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster59 min
May 24, 3:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPUnion39 min
May 24, 4:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield45 min
May 24, 4:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Clearfield50 min
May 24, 4:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSchuylkill43 min
May 24, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria35 min
May 24, 5:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre60 min
May 24, 5:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMifflin53 min
May 24, 5:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPJuniata, Snyder47 min
May 24, 6:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Northumberland53 min
May 24, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLebanon, Schuylkill47 min
May 24, 7:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLebanon15 min
May 24, 7:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster46 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.