Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 13, NWS State College, PA

August 4, 2004Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 2004, 6:36 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 39 min. 1 report 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, 6:36 PM EDT (22:36 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 2004, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 154 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:36 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, 6:55 PM EDTTSTM WND DMGLititz, PASEVERAL TREES DOWN AND WIRES DOWN.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 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°0°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 042236
TORCTP
PAC071-042315-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LANCASTER COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 715 PM EDT

* AT 631 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR BAINBRIDGE...OR NEAR
  ELIZABETHTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD
  PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MOUNT JOY AROUND 640 PM EDT...
  LANDISVILLE AND MOUNTVILLE AROUND 645 PM EDT...
  EAST PETERSBURG AND MANHEIM AND MILLERSVILLE AROUND 650 PM EDT...
  LANCASTER AND LITITZ AROUND 655 PM EDT...
  ROTHSVILLE AND WILLOW STREET AROUND 700 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.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT
WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE SAME AREA.

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

LAT...LON 4020 7658 4014 7670 4008 7665 3995 7626
      4021 7623

$$

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, 6:02 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPCumberland, Dauphin43 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, 6:58 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.