Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 129, NWS State College, PA

August 3, 2002York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 2002, 12:46 AM EDT for York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 59 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Aug 3, 2002, 12:46 AM EDT (04:46 UTC)
Expired: Aug 3, 2002, 1:45 AM EDT
In force: 59 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Whole counties

County York County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:47 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 122 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: 1531 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2129 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 32 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.

181 
WUUS51 KCTP 030446
SVRCTP
PAC133-030545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1246 AM EDT SAT AUG 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  YORK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 145 AM EDT.

* AT 1246 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER NEW FREEDOM...OR 12 MILES SOUTH OF
  DALLASTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SHREWSBURY AROUND 1255 AM.
  STEWARTSTOWN AROUND 115 AM.
  JACOBUS AROUND 140 AM.
  RED LION AND DALLASTOWN AROUND 145 AM.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THIS STORM IS A DAMAGING WIND GUST. EXPECT GUSTS
TO EXCEED 60 MPH. THESE WINDS CAN EASILY KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER
LINES...AND CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE. LARGE HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. THE
SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER...AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

INTENSE RAINFALL IS ALSO LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. THE HEAVY RAIN WILL
CAUSE WATER TO POND ON AREA ROADS AND REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR
ZERO...WHICH WILL MAKE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. THE RAIN WILL ALSO FILL
DITCHES AND SMALL STREAMS QUICKLY...AND MAY LEAD TO FLOODING.

$$
GRUMM
LAT...LON 3974 7684 3962 7666 3982 7635 4000 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 Aug 2, 9:30 PM EDT, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 9:30 PM EDT, 3 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
930 PM EDT FRI AUG 2 2002

WL BE SENDING A SECOND UPD TO CLEAN UP THE SHRA/TSRA FM THE
OVERNIGHT FCST. DWPTS NOT DIPPING AS LOW AS PREV THOUGHT IN THE
NORTH...SO WL NUDGE TEMPS UP A NOTCH THERE. ALSO REMOVED MORNING
SHOWERS FM FCST FOR SAT IN THE SOUTH.

.CTP...NONE.

DANGELO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 3, 4:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Bedford	66 min
Aug 3, 5:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	59 min
Aug 3, 5:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Dauphin	59 min
Aug 3, 6:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.