Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 54, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

May 14, 2002Berks County, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 14, 2002, 5:11 PM EDT for Berks County, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 34 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 14, 2002, 5:11 PM EDT (21:11 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 2002, 5:45 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

Counties Berks County, PA, Lehigh County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:11 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
May 14, 5:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EAllentown, PA
May 14, 5:40 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EReading, 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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 2002-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2002-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -217 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1314 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
88 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-217 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-115 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.

000 
WUUS51 KPHI 142111
SVRPHI
PAC011-077-142145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
510 PM EDT TUE MAY 14 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  LEHIGH COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
  BERKS COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

* UNTIL 545 PM EDT.

* AT 505 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 9 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF SCHNECKSVILLE TO 3 MILES WEST OF BERNVILLE...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  LEESPORT AT 515 PM.
  SCHNECKSVILLE...KUTZTOWN AT 520 PM.
  READING...FLEETWOOD AT 525 PM.
  ANCIENT OAKS AT 530 PM.
  EMMAUS AT 540 PM.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  ANCIENT OAKS...
  BERNVILLE...
  EMMAUS...
  FLEETWOOD...
  HAMBURG...
  KUTZTOWN...
  LEESPORT...
  LENHARTSVILLE...
  READING...
  SCHNECKSVILLE...
  STRAUSSTOWN...

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

$$

LAT...LON 4064 7590 4048 7627 4023 7590 4053 7542
          4074 7565

KRUZDLO

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 13, 8:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIChester52 min
May 13, 9:14 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIBerks2 hr
May 14, 5:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBucks27 min
May 14, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIChester30 min
May 14, 6:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIDelaware30 min
May 14, 6:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIPhiladelphia22 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.