Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 22, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 18, 2004Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this flash flood warning at May 18, 2004, 7:17 PM EDT for Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 2004, 7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2004, 10:15 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Jefferson County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:20 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 127 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: 312 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 635 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 254 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 254 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KPBZ 182318
FFWPBZ
PAC065-190215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
717 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 1015 PM EDT

* AT 713 PM EDT...FLASH FLOODING WAS INDICATED BY RADAR RAINFALL 
ESTIMATES OF ALMOST TWO INCHES OF RAIN IN THE PAST 45 MINUTES. 
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. 
RAPID STREAMS RISE CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE HEAVY RAINFALL.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE
WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW
YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

PLEASE REPORT HIGH WATER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING
TOLL FREE...1-877-633-6772.

LAT...LON 4126 7880 4102 7885 4102 7920 4123 7915

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 18, 2:20 PM EDT, 4 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 18, 2:20 PM EDT, 4 hours 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
220 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS PRECEDES FRONTAL BNDRY THAT WILL SWING
SEWD TNGT WITH PWS AOA 1.5...CONCERN FROM REPEAT STORMS MOVING OVER
PREVIOUS SATURATED GROUNDS FROM THIS MRNG/FLOODING.
SVR WATCH IN EFFECT THRU 8PM AND FLD WATCH CONTINUES TNGT.
MDLS VARY ON SWD MVMT OF BNDRY BY 12/19 WITH ETA(SLOWER) TO ARND
SWRN PA WHILE GFS TO M/D LINE. BOTH MDLS THOUGH
HOLD ONTO PRECIP ACROSS SRN SXNS WED IN NEAR ZONAL FLOW.
BNDRY THEN WILL WORK ITS WAY BACK SLOWLY NEWD WITH THREAT FOR PRECIP
INTO FRIDAY. MEDR PROGS PUSH WARM FRONTAL BNDRY WELL N OF REGION SAT
WITH BROAD WSW WARM MOIST FLOW...WITH CONTD THREAT FOR CHC POPS AND
ABV NORMAL TEMPS.

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 600 AM EDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONE MDZ001.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM (WCN) WATCH UNTIL 800 PM EDT TUESDAY FOR ZONE
MDC023.

OH...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 600 AM EDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES OHZ039>041...
OHZ048>050...OHZ057>059...OHZ068>069.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM (WCN) WATCH UNTIL 800 PM EDT TUESDAY FOR ZONES
OHC013...OHC019...OHC029...OHC031...OHC059...OHC067...OHC081...
OHC111...OHC119...OHC121...OHC157.

PA...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 600 AM EDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES PAZ007>009...
PAZ013>016...PAZ020>023...PAZ029>032.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM (WCN) WATCH UNTIL 800 PM EDT TUESDAY FOR ZONES
PAC003...PAC005...PAC007...PAC019...PAC031...PAC051...PAC053...
PAC059...PAC063...PAC065...PAC073...PAC085...PAC121...PAC125...
PAC129.

WV...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 600 AM EDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES WVZ001>004...
WVZ012...WVZ021>023...WVZ041.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM (WCN) WATCH UNTIL 800 PM EDT TUESDAY FOR ZONES
WVC009...WVC029...WVC049...WVC051...WVC061...WVC069...WVC077...
WVC093...WVC103.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, May 18, 2:10 PM EDT, 5 hours 7 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
210 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-190900-
ALLEGHENY PA-ARMSTRONG PA-BEAVER PA-BELMONT OH-BROOKE WV-BUTLER PA-
CARROLL OH-CLARION PA-COLUMBIANA OH-COSHOCTON OH-FAYETTE PA-
FOREST PA-GARRETT MD-GREENE PA-GUERNSEY OH-HANCOCK WV-HARRISON OH-
INDIANA PA-JEFFERSON PA-JEFFERSON OH-LAWRENCE PA-MARION WV-
MARSHALL WV-MERCER PA-MONONGALIA WV-MONROE OH-MUSKINGUM OH-NOBLE OH-
OHIO WV-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-TUSCARAWAS OH-VENANGO PA-WASHINGTON PA-
WESTMORELAND PA-WETZEL WV-
210 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND
GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THEIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
ACROSS THE ENTIRE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. THE PRIME THREATS ARE DAMAGING
WIND AND LARGE HAIL. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH HEAVY RAIN WITH THE
THUNDERSTORMS TO CAUSE FLOODING ALONG STREAMS AND IN AREAS WITH POOR
DRAINAGE. THERE MAY ALSO BE PERIODS OF FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ON DAY 2... THERE MAY STILL BE FLOODING FROM RUNOFF FROM THE HEAVY
THUNDERSTORM RAINS OF DAY 1.

FOR DAY 3 THROUGH DAY 7... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME... ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS MOST DAYS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER NETWORK ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 18, 5:24 PM EDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
524 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0515 PM     HAIL             NEW WATERFORD           40.85N 80.62W
05/18/2004  0.75 INCH        COLUMBIANA         OH   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AWIPSUSR

Local storm report, May 18, 5:28 PM EDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
528 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0525 PM     HAIL             KOPPEL                  40.83N 80.32W
05/18/2004  0.75 INCH        BEAVER             PA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AWIPSUSR

Local storm report, May 18, 5:36 PM EDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
536 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0535 PM     FLOOD            CUMBERLAND              39.85N 81.66W
05/18/2004                   GUERNSEY           OH   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FLOODING ALONG MILLER CREEK AND ALSO ROUTE 146 NEAR
            CUMBERLAND.

&&

AWIPSUSR

Local storm report, May 18, 6:05 PM EDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
605 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0445 PM     FLASH FLOOD      ST. CLAIRSVILLE         40.08N 80.90W
05/18/2004                   BELMONT            OH   PUBLIC

            AREA ROADS AND LOW LYING AREAS FLOODED.

&&

AWIPSUSR

Local storm report, May 18, 6:47 PM EDT, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
647 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0530 PM     FLASH FLOOD      MINERAL CITY            40.60N 81.36W
05/18/2004                   TUSCARAWAS         OH   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FLOODING ALONG STATE ROUTE 800.

&&

AWIPSUSR

Local storm report, May 18, 6:50 PM EDT, 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
650 PM EDT TUE MAY 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0540 PM     FLASH FLOOD      4 NE NEW PHILADELPHIA   40.53N 81.39W
05/18/2004                   TUSCARAWAS         OH   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FLOODING ALONG STATE ROUTE 212.

&&

AWIPSUSR

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 8:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Washington	66 min
May 17, 8:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	53 min
May 17, 8:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	59 min
May 17, 9:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Butler	58 min
May 18, 2:45 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	3 hr
May 18, 2:51 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	3 hr
May 18, 2:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny	61 min
May 18, 3:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Washington	39 min
May 18, 3:25 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Indiana	3 hr
May 18, 4:18 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Fayette	3 hr
May 18, 4:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	54 min
May 18, 4:45 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Greene	3 hr
May 18, 4:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette	59 min
May 18, 6:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Butler	57 min
May 18, 6:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong	66 min
May 18, 6:33 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Butler	3 hr
May 18, 6:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Clarion	56 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2004 Every flash flood warning 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.