Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 11, NWS State College, PA

August 4, 2004Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 2004, 6:02 PM EDT for Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 43 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 4, 2004, 6:02 PM EDT (22:02 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 2004, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:04 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 4, 6:20 PM EDTTSTM WND DMGHarrisburg, PASEVERAL TREES DOWN ON 14TH AND MARKET STREET...ALSO ON FRONT STREET.
Aug 4, 6:28 PM EDTTSTM WND DMG1 N Colonial Park, PASEVERAL TREES DOWN AT INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 322 AND HIGHWAY 83
Aug 4, 6:30 PM EDTTSTM WND DMG7 Se New Cumberland, PASTRUCTORAL DAMAGE SHEEPBRIDGE ROAD...POTENTIAL TORNADO

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 4, 2:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 152 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 2004-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 24 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 2004-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 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
24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-92 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1125 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-4 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 
WFUS51 KCTP 042202
TORCTP
PAC041-043-042245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
602 PM EDT WED AUG 4 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
  DAUPHIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT

* AT 555 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR LEMOYNE...MOVING EAST
  AT 35 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY
  TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  RUTHERFORD HEIGHTS AND HIGHSPIRE AROUND 605 PM EDT...
  CLIFTON AND HUMMELSTOWN AND MIDDLETOWN AROUND 610 PM EDT...
  HERSHEY AROUND 615 PM EDT...

FOR YOUR PROTECTION FROM THE DAMAGING WINDS OF A TORNADO...GO TO A
BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR
BUSINESS.

PLEASE REPORT HAIL...STRONG WINDS OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1-877-633-6772.

LAT...LON 4035 7709 4015 7709 4013 7656 4033 7659
 
RXR/DJO/JV
$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield75 min
Aug 4, 2:49 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPClearfield26 min
Aug 4, 3:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria, Somerset53 min
Aug 4, 3:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre63 min
Aug 4, 4:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Blair, Cambria, Somerset66 min
Aug 4, 4:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPJuniata, Perry55 min
Aug 4, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMifflin36 min
Aug 4, 4:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPHuntingdon64 min
Aug 4, 4:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSnyder, Union60 min
Aug 4, 4:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFulton36 min
Aug 4, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPJuniata, Perry61 min
Aug 4, 5:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin71 min
Aug 4, 5:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Northumberland65 min
Aug 4, 5:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland62 min
Aug 4, 6:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPYork54 min
Aug 4, 6:12 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPYork48 min
Aug 4, 6:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, Lebanon73 min
Aug 4, 6:36 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPLancaster39 min
Aug 4, 6:58 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPYork32 min
Aug 4, 7:13 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPLancaster47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

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