Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 143, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

August 28, 2001Indiana County, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 28, 2001, 2:41 PM EDT for Indiana County, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 64 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 28, 2001, 2:41 PM EDT (18:41 UTC)
Expired: Aug 28, 2001, 3:45 PM EDT
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Indiana County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:45 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 28, 2:42 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Plumville, PA	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees. One tree fell onto SR 85, temporarily blocking traffic.
Aug 28, 3:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Pleasant Unity, PA	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.

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, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 70 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: 598 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 856 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 186 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 28, 10:34 AM EDT, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 10:34 AM EDT, 4 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1003 AM EDT TUE AUG 28 2001

JUST SENT OUT AN UPDATE TO CLEAN UP MORNING WORDING. FORECAST IS
BASICALLY THE SAME AS PREVIOUS WITH ONLY MINOR POP CHANGES FAR NORTH
AND FAR SOUTHEAST. BAND OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS ACROSS NW PA IS IN
ADVANCE OF COLD FRONT. FROPA THRU CWA DURING THE EVENING. MESOETA
LAYS FRONT OUT ACROSS NRN WV THIS EVENING FOR A TIME.

IT APPEARS GREATEST THREAT OF SVR WX IS HIGH WINDS. HEAVY DOWNPOURS
ALSO.

.PBZ...
MD...NONE.
OH...NONE.
PA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 28, 2:24 PM EDT, 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA
224 PM EDT TUE AUG 28 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 PM    MIDLAND                   PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/28/01   BEAVER                         TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWNREPORTED BY SKYWARN
                                          SPOTTERS

0200 PM    OHIOVILLE                 PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/28/01   BEAVER                         TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWNREPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0200 PM    INDUSTRY                  PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/28/01   BEAVER                         TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWNREPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0208 PM    PITTSBURGH                PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/28/01   ALLEGHENY                      REPORTED BY OBSERVER AT
                                          PITTSBURGH AIRPORT

0210 PM    WEXFORD                   PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/28/01   ALLEGHENY

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 28, 1:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver	66 min
Aug 28, 1:53 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Indiana	52 min
Aug 28, 2:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	26 min
Aug 28, 3:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	39 min
Aug 28, 3:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Washington	38 min
Aug 28, 4:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette	50 min
Aug 28, 5:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Monongalia	40 min
Aug 28, 6:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Monongalia	28 min
Aug 28, 6:48 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Marion	117 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2001 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.