Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 174, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

August 6, 2000Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 6, 2000, 10:37 PM EDT for Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 53 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 6, 2000, 10:37 PM EDT (02:37 UTC)
Expired: Aug 6, 2000, 11:30 PM EDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Whole counties

County Westmoreland County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:38 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 6, 10:55 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Trafford, PA	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and power lines.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 6, 9:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 55 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2398 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 723 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 272 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 361 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.8
Supercell composite: 24.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WUUS51 KPBZ 070237
SVRPIT
PAC129-070330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1037 PM EDT SUN AUG 6 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTMORELAND COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 1130 PM EDT

* AT 1037 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF GREENSBURG...MOVING EAST
  AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  SOUTHWEST GREENSBURG...SOUTH GREENSBURG...NEW STANTON...MANOR...
  LIGONIER...LAWSON HEIGHTS...DERRY...DELMONT AND CALUMET-NORVELT...

<<CALL TO ACTION>>SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58
MILES AN HOUR AND LARGE HAIL GREATER THAN THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH.

.END

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 Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 6, 9:50 PM EDT, 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 9:50 PM EDT, 47 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
950 PM EDT SUN AUG 6 2000

MCS CONTS TO PUSH QUICKLY ACRS NRN INDIANA...WITH CONVECTION FIRING
OUT TO EAST AHEAD OF SYSTEM ALONG THETA-E RIDGE OVR EXTRM NRN OH.
DISCUSSED SITUATION WITH SPC...WL GO WITH WATCH TO COVER CWA XTNDG
DOWN TO MASON-DIXON LINE.  IN ADDITION...WITH SVRL COUNTIES OVR SERN
CWA HAVING EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT FLASH FLOODING EARLIER...WL CONT
WITH FFA FOR CWA.

FOR RIVERS...WITH YOUGH RIVER AT CONNELLSVILLE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE WL
CONT WITH FLW THRU TONIGHT.

STRAGER

.PBZ...
MD...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 400 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONE MDZ001.

OH...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 400 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
OHZ039>041...OHZ048>050...OHZ057>059...OHZ068>069.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 300 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
OHZ039>059...OHZ068>069.

PA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 400 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
PAZ007>009...PAZ013>016...PAZ020>023...PAZ029>032.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 300 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
PAZ007>009...PAZ013>016...PAZ020>023...PAZ029>032.

RECREATIONAL BOATING ADVISORY UNTIL 1100 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONE
PAZ021.

WV...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 400 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
WVZ001>004...WVZ012...WVZ021>023...WVZ041.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 300 AM EDT MONDAY FOR ZONES
WVZ001>004.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 6, 9:39 PM EDT, 58 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
939 PM EDT SUN AUG 6 2000

PAZ020-021-029-030-WVZ001-002-070300-
ALLEGHENY PA-BEAVER PA-BROOKE WV-HANCOCK WV-WASHINGTON PA-
WESTMORELAND PA-
939 PM EDT SUN AUG 6 2000

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE HEADED FOR THE PITTSBURGH METRO AREA. THIS
EVENING.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY FORMING OVER THE PANHANDLE OF
WEST VIRGINIA AND AND WERE MOVING RAPIDLY EAST AT 40 MPH.  THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH AND GREENSBURG BY 10
PM AND CONTINUE FOR AN HOURS OR MORE. EXPECT WIND GUSTS OVER 40 MPH
AND GREATER ALONG WITH HAIL AND TORRENTIAL RAINS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 6, 10:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Washington	42 min
Aug 6, 10:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong	55 min
Aug 6, 10:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	64 min
Aug 6, 10:28 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	4 hr
Aug 6, 10:39 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	3 hr
Aug 7, 12:09 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver	66 min
Aug 7, 12:09 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Lawrence	66 min
Aug 7, 12:16 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Mercer	59 min
Aug 7, 12:36 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Butler	54 min
Aug 7, 1:27 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Westmoreland	4 hr
Aug 7, 1:30 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Washington	4 hr
Aug 7, 5:09 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland	3 hr
Aug 7, 7:58 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2000 Every 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.