Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS State College, PA

May 12, 2002York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 12, 2002, 5:41 PM EDT for York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 64 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
May 12, 2002, 5:41 PM EDT (21:41 UTC)
Expired
May 12, 2002, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
64 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 21:41 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 12, 6:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EWinterstown, PATrees were reported down in Hopewell Center, near Winterstown.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 12, 3:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-05-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-05-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 150 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1104 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
143 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.

000 
WUUS51 KCTP 122141
SVRCTP
PAC133-122245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
540 PM EDT SUN MAY 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT.

* AT 540 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THOMASVILLE...OR 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  WEIGELSTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  YORK AND EMIGSVILLE AT 545 PM.
  STONYBROOK AND SPRY AT 550 PM.
  WINDSOR AND RED LION AT 555 PM.
  SHENKS FERRY AT 605 PM.

STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN 
DAMAGING WINDS 58 MPH OR STRONGER OR HAIL THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH 
OR LARGER.

$$

LAT...LON 4003 7700 3985 7700 3986 7636 4005 7654

JL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 12, 1:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria47 min
May 12, 2:01 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClearfield6 hr
May 12, 3:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria, Somerset41 min
May 12, 3:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Blair49 min
May 12, 4:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPHuntingdon41 min
May 12, 4:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland, Franklin, Perry39 min
May 12, 5:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin60 min
May 12, 5:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster56 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2002Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.