Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 10, 2003Lawrence County, Mercer County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 10, 2003, 2:21 AM EDT for Lawrence County, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 54 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 10, 2003, 2:21 AM EDT (06:21 UTC)
Expired: May 10, 2003, 3:15 AM EDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Lawrence County, PA, Mercer County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:22 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 84 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: 18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -278 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 828 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 May 9, 9:25 PM EDT, 4 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 9:25 PM EDT, 4 hours 56 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
925 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

UPDATE TO CHANGE TIMING OF SHRA/TSRA OVERNIGHT AND SAT.  ALSO ADDING
FOG IN S AND W ZONES.  MESO ETA BRINGING IN MORE TSRA LATE TONIGHT
INTO SAT AM. WILL KEEP EYE ON TSRA DEVELOPING ACROSS CNTRL OH AND
NRN IN AS THESE STORMS COULD MOVE OVER ALREADY DRENCHED AREAS IN THE
S AND W PARTS OF OUR FA.

.PBZ...
MD...NONE.
OH...FLOOD WARNING FOR THE MUSKINGUM RIVER IN COSHOCTON CO UNTIL 400
AM SATURDAY.
PA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 5:10 AM EDT, 21 hours 11 minutes before

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-091100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
510 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND
GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE UPPER OHIO
VALLEY TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN HAVE
DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL. THE STORMS THIS WEEKEND CAN ALSO HAVE
HEAVY RAIN. RAIN AMOUNTS OF MORE THAN 1.5 INCHES IN A COUPLE HOURS
CAN CAUSE FLOODING. THERE CAN ALSO BE FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING.

THE FACTORS THAT CAN CAUSE SEVERE STORMS AND HEAVY RAINFALL THIS
WEEKEND ARE THE HUMID AIR AND WARM FRONT CURRENTLY OVER THE UPPER
OHIO VALLEY. AS THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP, THEY CAN FORM ADDITIONAL
BOUNDARIES THAT CAN FURTHER INTENSITY THUNDERSTORMS PAST SEVERE
LIMITS. THIS ALSO GIVES THE POTENTIAL FOR STORMS TO REPEAT OVER SOME
LOCATIONS, RESULTING IN HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS.

AS A RESULT, SKYWARN NET ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE UPPER OHIO
VALLEY SUNDAY.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN HAVE DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL. THE
STORMS THIS WEEKEND CAN ALSO HAVE HEAVY RAIN. RAIN AMOUNTS OF MORE
THAN 1.5 INCHES IN A COUPLE HOURS CAN CAUSE FLOODING. THERE CAN ALSO
BE FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.

A STRONG COLD FRONT, FROM THE MIDWEST, MOVING THROUGH THE UPPER OHIO
VALLEY SUNDAY MAY CAUSE A SQUALL LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

AS A RESULT, SKYWARN NET ACTIVATION IS LIKELY ON SUNDAY, AS WELL AS
TODAY AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 10, 12:53 AM EDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before

PAZ007-008-100700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1253 AM EDT SAT MAY 10 2003

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADARS SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS WITH
HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN WILL BE MOVING EASTWARD AT 25 MPH ACROSS MERCER
AND VENANGO COUNTIES UNTIL AROUND 3 AM. HAIL CAN BE HALF INCH IN
SIZE. RAIN AMOUNTS CAN BE OVER 1 INCH. THERE CAN ALSO BE WIND GUSTS
OVER 35 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 10, 2:56 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Butler, Lawrence	64 min
May 10, 3:48 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong, Indiana	57 min
May 10, 6:33 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene, Washington	57 min
May 10, 7:12 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Lawrence	63 min
May 10, 7:17 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette	58 min
May 10, 7:28 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Greene	4 hr
May 10, 7:37 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Fayette	4 hr
May 10, 7:43 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Beaver	4 hr
May 10, 7:47 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Washington	4 hr
May 10, 8:06 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Westmoreland	3 hr
May 10, 5:41 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Guernsey	34 min
May 10, 6:03 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Belmont, Harrison	42 min
May 10, 6:57 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Columbiana	48 min
May 10, 7:32 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Preston	4 hr
May 10, 7:59 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Brooke, Hancock	4 hr
May 10, 9:55 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Ohio	3 hr
May 10, 7:18 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Preston	3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.