Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS State College, PA

July 1, 2004Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 2004, 4:20 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 55 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: Jul 1, 2004, 4:20 PM EDT (20:20 UTC)
Expired: Jul 1, 2004, 5:15 PM EDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:23 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 162 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: 581 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 965 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KCTP 012020
TORCTP
PAC071-012115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
420 PM EDT THU JUL 1 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 418 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR LEOLA...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO
  AT ANY TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  LEOLA AROUND 430 PM EDT...
  PARADISE AROUND 445 PM EDT...
  GAP AROUND 505 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.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR 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 4012 7625 4009 7630 4001 7621 3991 7604
      4005 7597 4009 7612

LAMBERT/DANGELO

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 1, 2:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lebanon	52 min
Jul 1, 3:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster	82 min
Jul 1, 3:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lebanon	28 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.