Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 18, NWS State College, PA

May 16, 2011Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 2011, 6:09 PM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 2 hr. 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: May 16, 2011, 6:09 PM EDT (22:09 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2011, 8:30 PM EDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:11 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
May 16, 6:09 PM EDT	FLASH FLOOD	Lancaster, PA	RECEIVED A CALL FROM A SPOTTER REPORTING STREET FLOODING AND WATER RESCUES IN LANCASTER TWP. LATER...THE 911 CALL CENTER REPORTED THAT SEVERAL WATER RESCUES HAD BEEN PERFORMED IN AND AROUND LANCASTER CITY.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 68 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: 83 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -83 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 612 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 130 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.

081 
WGUS51 KCTP 162209
FFWCTP
PAC071-170115-
/O.NEW.KCTP.FF.W.0018.110516T2209Z-110517T0115Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
609 PM EDT MON MAY 16 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL LANCASTER COUNTY...

* UNTIL 915 PM EDT...

* AT 606 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM SLOW MOVING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER AND 
NEAR THE CITY OF LANCASTER.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  LANCASTER...MILLERSVILLE AND WILLOW STREET.

RAIN GAGE REPORTS IN THE AREA INDICATE THAT UP TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN 
HAS FALLEN IN THE LAST HOUR.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR IN AN
AUTOMOBILE. TURN AROUND DON'T DROWN!

FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. MOST FLOOD RELATED DEATHS OCCUR
IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS WATER COVERED BRIDGES...
DIPS...OR LOW WATER CROSSINGS. TURN AROUND...DON'T DROWN! NEVER TRY
TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE
RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

&&

LAT...LON 4013 7635 4013 7619 3996 7621 3996 7638

$$

FORECASTER: LA CORTE

1 follow-up statement

267 
WGUS71 KCTP 170030
FFSCTP

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
830 PM EDT MON MAY 16 2011

PAC071-170040-
/O.CAN.KCTP.FF.W.0018.000000T0000Z-110517T0115Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
LANCASTER PA-
830 PM EDT MON MAY 16 2011

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR CENTRAL LANCASTER
COUNTY...

THE WATERS FROM THE EARLIER HEAVY RAINS ARE RECEDING AND FLOOD WATERS
NO LONGER POSE A THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY. THEREFORE...THE FLASH
FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO EAST
PETERSBURG...LANCASTER...MILLERSVILLE AND WILLOW STREET.

WATER IS RECEDING...BUT JUST SOME MINOR FLOODING PROBLEMS MAY
CONTINUE FOR AN HOUR OR TWO.

LAT...LON 4013 7635 4013 7619 3996 7621 3996 7638

$$

FORECASTER: LA CORTE

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 5:56 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Lancaster	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2011 Every flash flood warning in 2011

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.