Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 4, NWS State College, PA

June 9, 2009Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jun 9, 2009, 2:50 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 25 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
Jun 9, 2009, 2:50 PM EDT (18:50 UTC)
Expired
Jun 9, 2009, 3:15 PM EDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:53 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
Jun 9, 1:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 39 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2009-06-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1272 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2009-06-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 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
1272 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
804 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
108 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KCTP 091850
TORCTP
PAC071-091915-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0004.090609T1850Z-090609T1915Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
250 PM EDT TUE JUN 9 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN LANCASTER COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 315 PM EDT

* AT 249 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER
  SOUTHEASTERN LANCASTER COUNTY...OR 16 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WILLOW
  STREET...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
 RURAL SOUTHEASTERN LANCASTER COUNTY...

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.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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...TAKE SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...LEAVE IT AND GET INSIDE A STRONG
BUILDING. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH
OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

&&

LAT...LON 3981 7616 3992 7609 3989 7599 3987 7599
      3985 7602 3981 7604 3975 7608 3973 7611
      3973 7612
TIME...MOT...LOC 1850Z 319DEG 6KT 3982 7606

$$

FORECASTER: MARTIN/GARTNER/GRUMM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 8, 8:20 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPLebanon40 min
Jun 9, 3:11 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPHuntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Snyder64 min
Jun 9, 4:40 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPColumbia, Dauphin, Lebanon, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill65 min
Jun 9, 5:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill66 min
Jun 9, 6:13 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster27 min
Jun 9, 11:47 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPSomerset43 min
Jun 9, 12:01 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPCumberland, Franklin, Perry119 min
Jun 9, 12:32 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPSomerset43 min
Jun 9, 1:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Somerset42 min
Jun 9, 1:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Lebanon, Perry41 min
Jun 9, 1:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland, York63 min
Jun 9, 1:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Somerset56 min
Jun 9, 1:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, York66 min
Jun 9, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton60 min
Jun 9, 2:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster23 min
Jun 9, 2:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPBedford, Fulton44 min
Jun 9, 2:27 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryCTPLancaster3 hr
Jun 9, 2:31 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryCTPCumberland3 hr
Jun 9, 2:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster25 min
Jun 9, 2:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Cumberland, Franklin, Perry, York64 min
Jun 9, 2:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, York63 min
Jun 9, 3:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin33 min
Jun 9, 3:20 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryCTPFranklin3 hr
Jun 9, 3:23 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPSomerset37 min
Jun 9, 3:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster37 min
Jun 9, 3:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSomerset62 min
Jun 9, 3:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Juniata, Northumberland, Perry41 min
Jun 9, 3:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPAdams, Franklin, York49 min
Jun 9, 3:55 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryCTPAdams, Franklin3 hr
Jun 9, 4:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, York49 min
Jun 9, 4:17 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPDauphin28 min
Jun 9, 4:29 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPBedford31 min
Jun 9, 4:30 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPBedford30 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2009Every tornado warning in 2009Tornadoes in 2009

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.