Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 4, NWS State College, PA

June 17, 2004Columbia County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jun 17, 2004, 4:46 PM EDT for Columbia County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 44 min. 2 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, 4:46 PM EDT (20:46 UTC)
Expired: Jun 17, 2004, 5:30 PM EDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Columbia County, PA

The radar

The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 127 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:48 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 17, 5:05 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Orangeville, PA	LARGE NUMBER OF TREES DOWN FROM ORANGEVILLE TO THE NORTHWEST. POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD ALSO REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.
Jun 17, 5:05 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Orangeville, PA	LARGE NUMBER OF TREES DOWN FROM ORANGEVILLE TO THE NORTHWEST. POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD ALSO REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 17, 1:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 183 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: 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.

312 
WFUS51 KCTP 172046
TORCTP
PAC037-172130-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  COLUMBIA COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 530 PM EDT

* AT 441 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR JERSEYTOWN...OR 9   
  MILES NORTH OF BLOOMSBURG...MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THIS 
  DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MIFFLINVILLE AROUND 505 PM EDT...
  BERWICK AROUND 510 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.

IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME OR A VEHICLE...EVACUATE THEM AND GET
INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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

LAT...LON 4116 7648 4110 7650 4104 7641 4099 7623
          4114 7627

LAMBERT

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 16, 8:35 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Adams, York	3 hr
Jun 17, 1:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Warren	53 min
Jun 17, 1:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	McKean	61 min
Jun 17, 2:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Adams	45 min
Jun 17, 2:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Elk	57 min
Jun 17, 2:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	53 min
Jun 17, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cameron, Potter	90 min
Jun 17, 2:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Clearfield	55 min
Jun 17, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Clinton	54 min
Jun 17, 3:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	93 min
Jun 17, 3:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Somerset	55 min
Jun 17, 3:47 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Lancaster	73 min
Jun 17, 3:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cambria	56 min
Jun 17, 4:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Clinton	32 min
Jun 17, 4:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lycoming	60 min
Jun 17, 4:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Columbia, Montour	72 min
Jun 17, 4:25 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Montour	20 min
Jun 17, 4:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Union	67 min
Jun 17, 4:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre	41 min
Jun 17, 5:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Northumberland	56 min
Jun 17, 5:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Snyder	20 min
Jun 17, 5:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Columbia	18 min
Jun 17, 5:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Schuylkill	56 min
Jun 17, 5:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Dauphin, Perry	49 min
Jun 17, 6:18 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Columbia	3 hr
Jun 17, 7:35 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Cambria	4 hr
Jun 17, 7:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	58 min

Nearby

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