Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 2, NWS State College, PA

June 17, 2004Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jun 17, 2004, 3:47 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 73 min. 4 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
Jun 17, 2004, 3:47 PM EDT (19:47 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 2004, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
73 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lancaster County, PA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 17, 4:05 PM EDTHAIL 1Millersville, PA
Jun 17, 4:05 PM EDTHAIL 1Millersville, PA
Jun 17, 4:10 PM EDTFUNNEL CLOUDParadise, PA
Jun 17, 4:10 PM EDTFUNNEL CLOUDParadise, PA

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
Jun 17, 2:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 62 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 2004-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 456 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2004-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 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
456 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
655 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 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.

560 
WFUS51 KCTP 171947
TORCTP
PAC071-172100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
345 PM EDT THU JUN 17 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 500 PM EDT

* AT 340 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR MOUNTVILLE...OR NEAR
  MILLERSVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM 
  COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MILLERSVILLE AND LANCASTER AND SAFE HARBOR AROUND 350 PM EDT...
  WILLOW STREET AROUND 400 PM EDT...
  LEOLA AROUND 405 PM EDT...
  SMITHVILLE AROUND 410 PM EDT...
  STRASBURG AND NEW HOLLAND AROUND 415 PM EDT...
  PARADISE AROUND 420 PM EDT...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 4016 7638 3998 7650 3972 7613 4007 7583

DANGELO
$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 8:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPAdams, York3 hr
Jun 17, 1:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPWarren53 min
Jun 17, 1:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPMcKean61 min
Jun 17, 2:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams45 min
Jun 17, 2:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPElk57 min
Jun 17, 2:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster53 min
Jun 17, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCameron, Potter90 min
Jun 17, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClearfield55 min
Jun 17, 3:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClinton54 min
Jun 17, 3:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster93 min
Jun 17, 3:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSomerset55 min
Jun 17, 3:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCambria56 min
Jun 17, 4:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPClinton32 min
Jun 17, 4:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLycoming60 min
Jun 17, 4:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPColumbia, Montour72 min
Jun 17, 4:25 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPMontour20 min
Jun 17, 4:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPUnion67 min
Jun 17, 4:46 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPColumbia44 min
Jun 17, 4:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre41 min
Jun 17, 5:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPNorthumberland56 min
Jun 17, 5:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSnyder20 min
Jun 17, 5:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPColumbia18 min
Jun 17, 5:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSchuylkill56 min
Jun 17, 5:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Perry49 min
Jun 17, 6:18 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPColumbia3 hr
Jun 17, 7:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCTPCambria4 hr
Jun 17, 7:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster58 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.