Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 173, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

August 3, 2002Berks County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 2002, 4:18 PM EDT for Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 57 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
Aug 3, 2002, 4:18 PM EDT (20:18 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 2002, 5:15 PM EDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

County Berks County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:18 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
Aug 3, 4:20 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 52 ESinking Spg, PA

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 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 206 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 2002-08-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1573 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-08-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1573 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-126 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1261 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 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.

063 
WUUS51 KPHI 032018
SVRPHI
PAC011-032115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
417 PM EDT SAT AUG 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL BERKS COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT.

* AT 415 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM... 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WERNERSVILLE...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  BIRDSBORO...
  READING...
  WERNERSVILLE...

HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND WINDS GREATER THAN 55 MILES AN
HOUR ARE EXPECTED FROM THIS STORM. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE
UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

INTENSE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS IF
POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID
USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. IF OUTDOORS...STAY AWAY
FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

$$

LAT...LON 4042 7602 4030 7619 4009 7597 4023 7575

IOVINO

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 8:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBucks, Montgomery55 min
Aug 3, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBerks62 min
Aug 3, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIChester61 min
Aug 3, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIChester63 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.