Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 95, NWS State College, PA

June 27, 2002Snyder County, Union County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 27, 2002, 4:12 PM EDT for Snyder County, Union County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 63 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
Jun 27, 2002, 4:12 PM EDT (20:12 UTC)
Expired
Jun 27, 2002, 5:15 PM EDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Snyder County, PA, Union County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:14 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
Jun 27, 4:26 PM EDTThunderstorm WindSwengel, PAA roof was blown off of a church in Swengel.

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
Jun 27, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 176 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2002-06-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 287 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2002-06-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 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
287 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-83 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1213 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KCTP 272012
SVRCTP
PAC109-119-272115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
410 PM EDT THU JUN 27 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  UNION COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA
  SNYDER COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT.

* AT 410 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF WEIKERT TO
  10 MILES WEST OF SNYDER-MIDDLESWARTH SP...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  WEIKERT AT 415 PM.
  SNYDER-MIDDLESWARTH SP AT 420 PM.
  LAURELTON CENTER AT 425 PM.
  TROXELVILLE AND R.B. WINTER SP AT 430 PM.
  SAND BRIDGE SP AND PENNS CREEK AT 435 PM.
  FOREST HILL AT 440 PM.
  LEWISBURG AND SELINSGROVE AT 450 PM. 

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THIS STORM IS A DAMAGING WIND GUST FROM THE 
WEST BETWEEN 65 AND 75 MPH. THESE WINDS WILL 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.

REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR
NO ADVANCED WARNING.

INTENSE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. STAY INDOORS AWAY
FROM WINDOWS. STAY OFF THE PHONE IF POSSIBLE.

$$

LAMBERT

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 Jun 27, 4:05 PM EDT, 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 27, 4:05 PM EDT, 7 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE
315 PM THU JUN 27 2002

AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS CWA. HEAVY RAIN HAS
BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN THREAT AS ONLY WEAK TO MDT
SHEAR IN PLACE WITHIN THE WARM MOIST AMS. SOME GUSTY WINDS AND
SMALL HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STORMS AS WELL BUT NOTHING
ABOVE SEVERE CRIT HAS BEEN OBSERVED SO FAR THIS AFTN.

TRICKY PART OF FCST IS TIMING OF END OF THE PCPN. AT THIS POINT
EXPECT MOST OF THE SIG PCPN TO HAVE MOVED SOUTH AND EAST OF NW AND
CENTRAL PA BY 00Z. WITH LINGERING TSTMS OVER MIDDLE AND LOWER SUSQ
INTO MID EVENING. WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE NW AND CHANCE POPS
SERN HALF OF CWA FOR PCPN THIS EVENING.

FRI AND WEEKEND CONTINUE TO LOOK NICE...MUCH DRIER AND A BIT COOLER
TO START...THEN WARMING UP BY SUN. EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL PUT US BACK
IN THE SOUP HEAT AND HUMIDITY WISE.

.CTP...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #479 TIL 8PM FOR ALL OF CENTRAL PA.

GARTNER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 27, 1:45 PM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-280000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
145 PM EDT THU JUN 27 2002

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT THIS
EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

MCKEAN...MONTOUR...YORK...SOMERSET...FRANKLIN...LANCASTER...
CUMBERLAND...BEDFORD...LEBANON...DAUPHIN...PERRY...JUNIATA...
HUNTINGDON...BLAIR...MIFFLIN...SNYDER...SCHUYLKILL...SOUTHERN
CENTRE...SOUTHERN CLINTON...WARREN...TIOGA...NORTHERN LYCOMING...
FULTON...NORTHUMBERLAND...CLEARFIELD...NORTHERN CENTRE...SOUTHERN
LYCOMING...COLUMBIA...CAMERON...CAMBRIA...ADAMS...POTTER...ELK...
NORTHERN CLINTON...SULLIVAN AND UNION.

DEVOIR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 27, 12:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Clearfield60 min
Jun 27, 2:42 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPClearfield3 hr
Jun 27, 3:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre63 min
Jun 27, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPPotter54 min
Jun 27, 5:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Franklin56 min
Jun 27, 5:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLebanon65 min
Jun 27, 6:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland19 min
Jun 27, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPYork62 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.