Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 3, NWS State College, PA

July 27, 2008Adams County, York County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 27, 2008, 12:47 PM EDT for Adams County, York County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 43 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 27, 2008, 12:47 PM EDT (16:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 27, 2008, 1:30 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Adams County, PA, York County, PA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:49 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 27, 11:26 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 118 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2008-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1356 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2008-07-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -17 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
1356 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-70 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1062 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KCTP 271647
TORCTP
PAC001-133-271730-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0003.080727T1647Z-080727T1730Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1247 PM EDT SUN JUL 27 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL YORK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  NORTHEASTERN ADAMS COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 130 PM EDT

* AT 1245 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  HEIDLERSBURG...OR 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF HANOVER...MOVING EAST AT 
  24 MPH. NICKEL TO GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS
  STORM.

* THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  EAST BERLIN AROUND 1255 PM EDT...
  SPRING GROVE...THOMASVILLE AND WEIGELSTOWN AROUND 110 PM EDT...

THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT THE FOLLOWING MAJOR ROADS...ROUTE 30...STATE
ROAD 94.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY 
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. FIND 
SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY AT THE FIRST SIGN OF THREATENING WEATHER.

PLEASE REPORT HAIL...STRONG WINDS OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL 
WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1 8 7 7 6 3 3 6 7 7 2.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT SUNDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.

LAT...LON 4001 7679 3981 7686 3988 7715 4004 7709
TIME...MOT...LOC 1646Z 283DEG 21KT 3993 7705

$$

FORECASTER: DEVOIR/LACORTE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 11:17 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland, Franklin, Huntingdon58 min
Jul 27, 11:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, York59 min
Jul 27, 11:58 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, Lebanon17 min
Jul 27, 12:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster60 min
Jul 27, 12:27 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPYork33 min
Jul 27, 12:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Franklin, York57 min
Jul 27, 12:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster24 min
Jul 27, 12:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, York66 min
Jul 27, 1:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Lancaster, York52 min
Jul 27, 4:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster23 min
Jul 27, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster90 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2008Every tornado warning in 2008Tornadoes in 2008

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.