Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 5, NWS State College, PA

July 11, 2009Lycoming County, Northumberland County, Union County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 11, 2009, 5:28 PM EDT for Lycoming County, Northumberland County, Union County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 32 min. 3 reports 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: Jul 11, 2009, 5:28 PM EDT (21:28 UTC)
Expired: Jul 11, 2009, 6:00 PM EDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Lycoming County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Union County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:28 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
Jul 11, 5:45 PM EDT	TORNADO	Watsontown, PA	TORNADO OBSERVED ON THE GROUND.
Jul 11, 5:50 PM EDT	TORNADO	2 N Milton, PA	TORNADO OBSERVED BY STATE TROOPER ON I-80.
Jul 11, 5:51 PM EDT	HAIL 0.75	Turbotville, PA

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 244 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: 29 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -149 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 89 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 129 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 KCTP 112128
TORCTP
PAC081-097-119-112200-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0005.090711T2128Z-090711T2200Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
528 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  NORTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  SOUTH CENTRAL LYCOMING COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 600 PM EDT

* AT 527 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  ELIMSPORT...OR 7 MILES SOUTH OF WILLIAMSPORT...MOVING EAST AT 25
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  WATSONTOWN...ALLENWOOD AND DELAWARE RUN AROUND 545 PM EDT...
  NEW COLUMBIA AROUND 550 PM EDT...

THIS WILL IMPACT THE FOLLOWING CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA INTERSTATES...
I-80 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 205 AND 213...I-180 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 1
AND 7.

THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT THE FOLLOWING MAJOR ROADS...STATE HIGHWAY
147...ROUTE 15.

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...

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 
QUARTER SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

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 4114 7675 4108 7677 4101 7685 4110 7701
      4112 7706 4117 7702
TIME...MOT...LOC 2127Z 292DEG 21KT 4113 7701

$$

FORECASTER: LAMBERT/GRUMM/STEINBUGL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 11, 12:09 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Blair	36 min
Jul 11, 12:23 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean, Warren	82 min
Jul 11, 12:43 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Bedford	32 min
Jul 11, 12:46 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean, Warren	74 min
Jul 11, 12:57 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	McKean, Warren	3 hr
Jul 11, 1:42 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean, Potter	63 min
Jul 11, 1:47 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Blair	43 min
Jul 11, 1:57 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Fulton	63 min
Jul 11, 2:04 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Centre, Mifflin	56 min
Jul 11, 2:27 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Fulton	117 min
Jul 11, 2:35 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter, Tioga	117 min
Jul 11, 2:48 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Franklin	57 min
Jul 11, 2:59 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lycoming, Tioga	76 min
Jul 11, 3:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Adams, Franklin	59 min
Jul 11, 3:38 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Franklin	112 min
Jul 11, 3:52 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Dauphin, Lebanon	53 min
Jul 11, 3:58 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams	62 min
Jul 11, 4:30 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lycoming	60 min
Jul 11, 4:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lycoming, Northumberland, Union	62 min
Jul 11, 5:13 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Columbia, Sullivan	62 min
Jul 11, 5:38 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Warren	37 min
Jul 11, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Columbia, Montour, Northumberland	63 min
Jul 11, 5:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Warren	59 min
Jul 11, 5:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Columbia, Montour, Northumberland	54 min
Jul 11, 5:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cameron, Elk	63 min
Jul 11, 6:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield	42 min
Jul 11, 6:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Columbia, Schuylkill	87 min
Jul 11, 6:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Huntingdon, Mifflin	63 min
Jul 11, 6:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Elk	62 min
Jul 11, 7:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry	40 min
Jul 11, 7:13 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Franklin	62 min
Jul 11, 7:17 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Elk	28 min
Jul 11, 7:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour and 3 more	71 min
Jul 11, 7:32 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Schuylkill	58 min
Jul 11, 7:44 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Columbia, Dauphin, Montour, Northumberland	61 min
Jul 11, 7:50 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Cameron	40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.