Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS State College, PA

May 13, 2002Lancaster County, York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 13, 2002, 8:41 PM EDT for Lancaster County, York 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: May 13, 2002, 8:41 PM EDT (00:41 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 2002, 9:45 PM EDT
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Lancaster County, PA, York County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 141 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:42 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
May 13, 9:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	York, PA	There was damage to a supermarket in York.
May 13, 9:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Lancaster, PA	Trees were down in Lancaster.

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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 347 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1144 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 197 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 227 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KCTP 140041
SVRCTP
PAC071-133-140145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
840 PM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 945 PM EDT.

* AT 840 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM JACOBUS TO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  NEW FREEDOM...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  RED LION AND DALLASTOWN AT 845 PM.
  BROGUE AT 855 PM.
  SHENKS FERRY AND SAFE HARBOR AT 900 PM.
  HOLTWOOD AND DELTA AT 905 PM.
  SMITHVILLE AT 910 PM.
  QUARRYVILLE AND WAKEFIELD AT 915 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 3996 7684 3978 7680 3960 7690 3962 7577
          3980 7566 3997 7569

JL

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.