Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 189, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 19, 2002, 2:45 PM EDT for Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 60 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
- Jul 19, 2002, 2:45 PM EDT (18:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 19, 2002, 3:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Washington County, PA
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Avella, PA | Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees onto State Highway 50. |
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
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 28 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1067 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 755 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 20 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 13 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
652 WUUS51 KPBZ 191845 SVRPBZ PAC125-191945- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 245 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... WASHINGTON COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA * UNTIL 345 PM EDT * AT 245 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTH OF WOLFDALE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE... NEAR MCGOVERN AT 250 PM... NEAR HOUSTON AT 255 PM... <<CALL TO ACTION>>SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MILES AN HOUR AND LARGE HAIL GREATER THAN THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH.
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 Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 19, 10:27 AM EDT, 4 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 10:27 AM EDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1027 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002 WILL UPDATE TO REMOVE MORNING WORDING AND RAISE SOME POPS. WITH UPPER FLOW WEAK..FRONT WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE THROUGH. WILL KEEP IN HEAVY DOWNPOUR WORDING WITH PRECIP WATER 1.8. INCH. FRONT WILL BE IN OUR SERN TIERS BY MORNING AND THAT IS WELL COVERED IN OUR PRESENT PACKAGE. TEMPS LOOK OK. .PBZ... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 11:25 AM EDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-192100- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1125 AM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002 ...NO SEVERE WEATHER EXPECTED BUT HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE... A WARM AND HUMID AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TIME TO TIME. THE BEST TIME FOR THESE STORMS WILL BE DURING THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH SAYS SOME OF THE SLOW MOVING STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALIZED HEAVY DOWNPOURS. IF TWO INCHES OR MORE OF RAIN FALLS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME...FLOODING CAN RESULT. BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS AND IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AS THESE STORMS PASS THROUGH. ALSO GUSTY WINDS CAN OCCUR. SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE IF HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURS. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL IN REPORTS OF ONE INCH OR MORE OF RAINFALL FROM THESE STORMS.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 12:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 50 minutes before
OHZ039>041-048>050-WVZ001-002-191900- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1255 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002 ...HEAVY DOWNPOURS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO FORM ACROSS PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL OHIO AND THE PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH COULD EXCEED ONE INCH PER HOUR. IF YOU PLAN TRAVEL ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...BE ALERT FOR RAPID CHANGES IN VISIBILITY IN THESE DOWNPOURS...ALONG WITH PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 1:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before
OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-PAZ020-021-029-WVZ001>003-191830- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 130 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL WERE PUSHING ACROSS THE REGION... A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM ALLEGHENY COUNTY...WEST THROUGH BEAVER COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA AND THEN EXTENDED TO TO HANCOCK COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA...JEFFERSON...CARROLL...AND TUSCARAWAS COUNTY OHIO. THESE STORMS CONTAIN FREQUENT LIGHTNING...TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS AND SMALL HAIL. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST ABOUT 15 MPH. IF YOU LIVE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NEAR ETNA...SHALER TOWNSHIP...AND BLAWNOX BE PREPARED FOR VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL BY 200 PM.
Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:31 PM EDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA
231 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0200 PM WEST ALEXANDER PA .75 INCH HAIL
07/19/02 WASHINGTON REPORTED BY
PUBLICLocal storm report, Jul 19, 2:31 PM EDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT - CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH, PA
231 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0200 PM WEST ALEXANDER PA .75 INCH HAIL
07/19/02 WASHINGTON REPORTED BY PUBLICThe office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 1:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Washington | 58 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.