Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 96, NWS State College, PA

June 27, 2002Adams County, Franklin County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 27, 2002, 5:34 PM EDT for Adams County, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 56 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: Jun 27, 2002, 5:34 PM EDT (21:34 UTC)
Expired: Jun 27, 2002, 6:30 PM EDT
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Adams County, PA, Franklin County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:36 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
Jun 27, 5:45 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Greencastle, PA	Penny sized hail was reported in Greencastle.
Jun 27, 5:55 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Gettysburg, PA	Trees were down in Gettysburg.

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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 127 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: 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 272134
SVRCTP
PAC001-055-272230-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA
  ADAMS COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT.

* AT 532 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WAYNESBORO...OR 4 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF HAGERSTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  WAYNESBORO AT 540 PM.
  MONT ALTO AND CHAMBERSBURG AT 545 PM.
  CARROLL VALLEY AND FAYETTEVILLE AT 550 PM.
  CASHTOWN AT 555 PM.
  SEVEN STARS AND GETTYSBURG AT 605 PM.
  BONNEAUVILLE AT 615 PM.

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.

$$

LAT...LON 3964 7784 3966 7718 3996 7706 4001 7766

RXR/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, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 27, 4:05 PM EDT, 1 hour 29 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, 3 hours 49 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 27, 12:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre, Clearfield	60 min
Jun 27, 2:42 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Clearfield	3 hr
Jun 27, 3:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre	63 min
Jun 27, 4:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Potter	54 min
Jun 27, 4:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Snyder, Union	63 min
Jun 27, 5:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lebanon	65 min
Jun 27, 6:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cumberland	19 min
Jun 27, 6:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	York	62 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.