Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

August 2, 2000Venango County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 2, 2000, 6:02 PM EDT for Venango County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 43 min. 2 reports 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 2, 2000, 6:02 PM EDT (22:02 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 2000, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Venango County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 2, 6:15 PM EDTThunderstorm WindKennerdell, PAThunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines in the Kennerdell area.
Aug 2, 6:20 PM EDTThunderstorm WindRockland, PAThunderstorm winds downed trees onto State Highways 38 and 257.

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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 114 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2000-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 450 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2000-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 93 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
450 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
685 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
93 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

645 
WFUS51 KPBZ 022203
TORPIT
PAC121-022245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
602 PM EDT WED AUG 2 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  VENANGO COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT

* AT 602 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 2 MILES NORTH OF WESLEY...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  OVER KENNERDELL AT 610 PM...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES AND
GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 1:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer35 min
Aug 2, 2:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZVenango39 min
Aug 2, 2:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer64 min
Aug 2, 3:23 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZVenango4 hr
Aug 2, 3:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZVenango62 min
Aug 2, 3:50 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZMercer3 hr
Aug 2, 4:12 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZForest3 hr
Aug 2, 4:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZClarion58 min
Aug 2, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer65 min
Aug 2, 5:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer46 min
Aug 2, 5:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZVenango66 min
Aug 2, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer62 min
Aug 2, 6:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZClarion67 min
Aug 2, 6:43 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZMercer3 hr
Aug 2, 6:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZVenango64 min
Aug 2, 7:14 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZForest, Venango3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes 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.