Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Mesoscale Discussions in 2004

Mesoscale Discussion 1663

July 14, 200441 counties in Pennsylvania

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jul 14, 2004, 12:06 PM EDT for 41 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 14, 2004, 12:06 PM EDT (16:06 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 2004, 2:30 PM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties

Adams County, PA, Allegheny County, PA, Armstrong County, PA, Bedford County, PA, Blair County, PA, Butler County, PA, Cambria County, PA, Cameron County, PA, Centre County, PA, Clarion County, PA, Clearfield County, PA, Clinton County, PA, Columbia County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Elk County, PA, Forest County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA, Indiana County, PA, Jefferson County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lawrence County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Lycoming County, PA, McKean County, PA, Mifflin County, PA, Montour County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA, Potter County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, Snyder County, PA, Somerset County, PA, Tioga County, PA, Union County, PA, Venango County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA, York County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:05 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 146 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 940 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2004-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 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
940 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
792 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

790 
ACUS11 KWNS 141606
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 141606 
PAZ000-MDZ000-141830-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1663
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1106 AM CDT WED JUL 14 2004

AREAS AFFECTED...CNTRL PA

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 141606Z - 141830Z

ISOLD TO WIDELY SCATTERED SEVERE STORMS MAY DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF
CNTRL/WRN PA OVER THE NEXT 1-3 HOURS. OVERALL ORGANIZED STORM
COVERAGE IS UNCERTAIN AT THIS POINT BASED ON SOMEWHAT MARGINAL
SHEAR. HOWEVER...A WATCH MAY BE NEEDED OVER PARTS OF THE AREA.

NARROW WARM SECTOR WAS DEVELOPING ACROSS PORTIONS OF CNTRL PA WITH
LATEST MLCAPE ESTIMATED AROUND 1000 J/KG. MEANWHILE...UPPER TROUGH
AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WERE MAKING STEADY EWD PROGRESS ACROSS WRN
PA WITH A TRAILING WIND SHIFT/CONVERGENCE AXIS EXTENDING FROM NERN
OH INTO NWRN PA. TSTMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING ALONG THE POST FRONTAL
WIND SHIFT LINE ACROSS NWRN PA OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS WITH
VIL/REFLECTIVITY VALUES SLOWLY INCREASING. GIVEN MOIST AIRMASS AND
MODEST INSTABILITY IN THE PRESENCE OF STRONG LARGE SCALE FORCING AND
SOMEWHAT MARGINAL DEEP LAYER SHEAR OF 25-30KT...SITUATION APPEARS
SUPPORTIVE OF A FEW SUPERCELLS OR ORGANIZED MULTICELL STORMS. THIS
POTENTIAL SHOULD CONTINUE TO INCREASE INTO THE AFTERNOON WITH A FEW
HAIL AND/OR WIND REPORTS POSSIBLE. STORMS DEVELOPING EWD AND
CROSSING THE WARM FRONT MAY ENCOUNTER MORE ENHANCED LOW LEVEL SHEAR
AND ACQUIRE SUPERCELL CHARACTERISTICS. IF WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER
POTENTIAL BECOMES MORE CERTAIN...A WATCH WOULD BE NEEDED.

..CARBIN.. 07/14/2004

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...PHI...BGM...CTP...LWX...PBZ...

39757928 40187976 40508022 40918050 41557969 41787925
41907880 41977830 41847729 41407647 40507607 39887617
39747700 39717841

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 1:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Carbon, Centre and 27 more6 hr
Jul 14, 3:16 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSusquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming89 min
Jul 14, 3:40 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Carbon, Centre and 28 more95 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Pennsylvania, 2004Every mesoscale discussion 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.