Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

August 4, 2004Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 2004, 3:33 PM EDT for Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 27 min. 1 report 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: Aug 4, 2004, 3:33 PM EDT (19:33 UTC)
Expired: Aug 4, 2004, 4:00 PM EDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Westmoreland County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:35 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
Aug 4, 4:00 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Johnstown, PA	TREES AND WIRES DOWN

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
Aug 4, 11:55 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 86 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: 35 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 869 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 54 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KPBZ 041933
TORPBZ
PAC129-042000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
333 PM EDT WED AUG 4 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTMORELAND COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 330 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  HOSTETTER...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  DERRY...
  LIGONIER...
  LAUGHLINTOWN...

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 4035 7948 4017 7946 4018 7851 4045 7854

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 4, 1:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Lawrence	61 min
Aug 4, 1:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Butler	63 min
Aug 4, 2:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Washington	60 min
Aug 4, 2:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong	49 min
Aug 4, 2:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Clarion	58 min
Aug 4, 2:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	56 min
Aug 4, 2:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Indiana, Jefferson	68 min
Aug 4, 2:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Westmoreland	67 min
Aug 4, 2:53 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette	67 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.