Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 16, NWS State College, PA

August 11, 2004Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 11, 2004, 2:52 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 38 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 2004, 2:52 PM EDT (18:52 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 2004, 3:30 PM EDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lancaster County, PA

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 11, 12:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 154 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 2004-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 253 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 2004-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
253 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-107 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1194 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS51 KCTP 111852
TORCTP
PAC071-111930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
253 PM EDT WED AUG 11 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 330 PM EDT

* AT 246 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR QUARRYVILLE...OR 9
  MILES SOUTHEAST OF WILLOW STREET...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS
  DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  GAP AROUND 310 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 3991 7624 3983 7619 3992 7597 4001 7597

$$

JL/BL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 10, 8:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin40 min
Aug 10, 8:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin32 min
Aug 10, 8:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMcKean54 min
Aug 10, 9:06 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPMcKean6 hr
Aug 11, 2:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster62 min
Aug 11, 4:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster61 min
Aug 11, 4:31 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPLancaster6 hr

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.