Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 39, NWS State College, PA

September 5, 20118 counties in Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 5, 2011, 1:41 AM EDT for 8 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 4 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: Sep 5, 2011, 1:41 AM EDT (05:41 UTC)
Expired: Sep 5, 2011, 5:30 AM EDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Columbia County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Lycoming County, PA, Montour County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, Sullivan County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:40 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
Sep 5, 3:00 AM EDT	FLASH FLOOD	Numidia, PA	ROUTE 42 CLOSED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES BY 1 FOOT OF RUNNING WATER.

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 00:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 227 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: 2382 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 895 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 63 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

007 
WGUS51 KCTP 050541
FFWCTP
PAC037-043-075-081-093-097-107-113-050930-
/O.NEW.KCTP.FF.W.0039.110905T0541Z-110905T0930Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
141 AM EDT MON SEP 5 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  COLUMBIA COUNTY...
  NORTHERN DAUPHIN COUNTY...
  EASTERN LEBANON COUNTY...
  MONTOUR COUNTY...
  SCHUYLKILL COUNTY...
  SULLIVAN COUNTY...
  NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY...
  SOUTHEASTERN LYCOMING COUNTY...

* UNTIL 530 AM EDT...

* AT 130 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A 
  LARGE...NORTH TO SOUTH AREA OF HEAVY RAIN AND EMBEDDED
  THUNDERSTORMS THAT WAS TRAINING ACROSS MUCH OF THE MIDDLE AND 
  LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES PER
  HOUR WILL OCCUR ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE WARNED AREA THROUGH 3 AM. 
  THIS VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL COMBINE WITH HEAVY RAIN OF 1 TO 2 INCHES
  EARLIER SUNDAY EVENING TO CREATE FLASH FLOOD OF STREAMS AND 
  CREEKS...AND THROUGHOUT LOW LYING PORTIONS OF URBAN AREAS.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO 
  LOPEZ...MILDRED...LAPORTE...  ANNVILLE...CORNWALL...LEBANON...
  MYERSTOWN...ASHLAND...FRACKVILLE...  MAHANOY CITY...
  MINERSVILLE...POTTSVILLE...SCHUYLKILL HAVEN...SHENANDOAH...
  ST. CLAIR...TAMAQUA...KULPMONT...MOUNT CARMEL...
  NORTHUMBERLAND...SHAMOKIN...SUNBURY...BERWICK AND BLOOMSBURG.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE 
UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. 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! 

&&

LAT...LON 4064 7598 4057 7601 4049 7643 4032 7615
      4020 7655 4049 7646 4055 7655 4058 7697
      4072 7686 4087 7680 4090 7683 4121 7667
      4157 7656 4154 7623 4121 7632 4114 7627
      4114 7622 4096 7621 4091 7599 4075 7577

$$

FORECASTER: LAMBERT/STEINBUGL/MARTIN

1 follow-up statement

366 
WGUS71 KCTP 050925
FFSCTP

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
525 AM EDT MON SEP 5 2011

PAC037-043-075-081-093-097-107-113-050933-
/O.EXP.KCTP.FF.W.0039.000000T0000Z-110905T0930Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
COLUMBIA PA-DAUPHIN PA-LEBANON PA-MONTOUR PA-SCHUYLKILL PA-
SULLIVAN PA-NORTHUMBERLAND PA-LYCOMING PA-
525 AM EDT MON SEP 5 2011

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 530 AM EDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN
LYCOMING...NORTHUMBERLAND...SULLIVAN...SCHUYLKILL...MONTOUR...EASTERN
LEBANON...NORTHERN DAUPHIN AND COLUMBIA COUNTIES...

WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN HAS DIMINISHED TO SCATTERED...MAINLY LIGHT 
SHOWERS OVER THE PAST HOUR OR SO. THE WATERS FROM THE HEAVY RAINS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE RECEDING AND NO LONGER POSE A THREAT TO LIFE 
OR PROPERTY. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO 
EXPIRE.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO DANVILLE...
ANNVILLE...CORNWALL...LEBANON...MYERSTOWN...ASHLAND...FRACKVILLE...
MAHANOY CITY...MINERSVILLE...POTTSVILLE...SCHUYLKILL HAVEN...
SHENANDOAH...ST. CLAIR...TAMAQUA...KULPMONT...MOUNT CARMEL...
NORTHUMBERLAND...SHAMOKIN...SUNBURY...BERWICK AND BLOOMSBURG.

LAT...LON 4064 7598 4057 7601 4049 7643 4032 7615
      4020 7655 4049 7646 4055 7655 4058 7697
      4072 7686 4087 7680 4090 7683 4121 7667
      4157 7656 4154 7623 4121 7632 4114 7627
      4114 7622 4096 7621 4091 7599 4075 7577

$$

FORECASTER: LAMBERT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 4, 8:11 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Union	3 hr
Sep 4, 8:21 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry	54 min
Sep 4, 9:11 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Northumberland and 3 more	64 min
Sep 4, 9:51 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill and 1 more	3 hr
Sep 4, 10:11 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Columbia, Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill	64 min
Sep 4, 10:14 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, York	61 min
Sep 4, 10:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill	44 min
Sep 4, 10:54 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, Juniata, Perry, Snyder and 1 more	3 hr
Sep 4, 11:29 PM EDT	Flash Flood Watch	CTP	Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata and 12 more	21 hr
Sep 4, 11:35 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Dauphin, Lebanon, York	70 min
Sep 4, 11:44 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and 1 more	3 hr
Sep 5, 12:38 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	York	67 min
Sep 5, 12:45 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Columbia, Dauphin, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill	4 hr
Sep 5, 6:16 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lancaster	29 min

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.