Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 20, 2004Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2004, 10:39 PM EDT for Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 36 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
May 20, 2004, 10:39 PM EDT (02:39 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2004, 11:15 PM EDT
In force
36 min
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), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:42 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2004-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1205 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2004-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 163 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
1205 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1103 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
267 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
7.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

505 
WFUS51 KPBZ 210239
TORPBZ
PAC065-210315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1039 PM EDT THU MAY 20 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 1115 PM EDT

* AT 1037 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES NORTH OF
  REYNOLDSVILLE...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  FALLS CREEK...
  SYKESVILLE...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES AND
GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

PLEASE REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...1-877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO SO SAFELY.

LAT...LON 4127 7887 4114 7903 4086 7866 4103 7846

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 8:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZVenango59 min
May 20, 8:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZForest53 min
May 20, 10:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZJefferson41 min
May 20, 11:13 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZJefferson3 hr
May 21, 2:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZJefferson35 min
May 21, 3:27 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMercer63 min
May 21, 4:04 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Lawrence56 min
May 21, 4:06 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZLawrence54 min
May 21, 4:27 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZButler63 min
May 21, 4:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBeaver54 min
May 21, 5:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Washington75 min
May 21, 5:33 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene72 min
May 21, 5:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZWestmoreland75 min
May 21, 5:57 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZFayette78 min
May 21, 8:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene45 min
May 21, 5:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZLawrence, Mercer66 min
May 21, 5:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBeaver67 min
May 21, 5:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZButler, Venango64 min
May 21, 5:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Washington55 min
May 21, 6:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZArmstrong, Clarion59 min
May 21, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene63 min
May 21, 6:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZWestmoreland61 min
May 21, 6:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZIndiana, Jefferson61 min
May 21, 6:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZFayette58 min
May 21, 6:52 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZGreene3 hr
May 21, 7:28 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZFayette3 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.