Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 20, NWS State College, PA

May 23, 2011Dauphin County, Northumberland County, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at May 23, 2011, 5:49 PM EDT for Dauphin County, Northumberland County, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 41 min. 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 23, 2011, 5:49 PM EDT (21:49 UTC)
Expired
May 23, 2011, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Dauphin County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:50 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 23, 6:35 PM EDTTORNADO1 S Brockton, PAEF1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ONE MILE SOUTH OF BROCKTON IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY AROUND 6...35 PM AND TRAVELED EAST FOR ONE QUARTER MILE

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

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 23, 10:48 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 140 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 2011-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2011-05-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -35 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
530 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
11 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.

385 
WFUS51 KCTP 232149
TORCTP
PAC043-097-107-232230-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0020.110523T2149Z-110523T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
549 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN DAUPHIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  SCHUYLKILL COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  SOUTHEASTERN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 546 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM
  CONTAINING THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS NEAR WILLIAMSTOWN...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  VALLEY VIEW AND MUIR AROUND 555 PM EDT...
  TREMONT AROUND 605 PM EDT...
  JOE ZERBEY AIRPORT AND MOUNT CARMEL AROUND 615 PM EDT...
  MINERSVILLE AND ASHLAND AROUND 620 PM EDT...
  GIRARDVILLE AND POTTSVILLE AROUND 625 PM EDT...
  FRACKVILLE AND ST. CLAIR AROUND 630 PM EDT...

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.

THIS WILL IMPACT I-81 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 102 AND 131.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

TAKE COVER INSIDE NOW. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. MOVE
TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A STURDY BUILDING. PUT AS
MANY WALLS BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS YOU CAN. AVOID WINDOWS.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM EDT MONDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.

&&

LAT...LON 4054 7650 4056 7654 4050 7664 4066 7674
      4080 7642 4081 7639 4078 7638 4080 7631
      4085 7630 4091 7615 4069 7601
TIME...MOT...LOC 2149Z 245DEG 27KT 4062 7658

$$

FORECASTER: KF/RG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 3:22 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPBlair, Huntingdon23 min
May 23, 3:48 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPCentre, Clinton, Mifflin27 min
May 23, 4:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Snyder, Union66 min
May 23, 4:13 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPHuntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin32 min
May 23, 4:18 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPCentre, Clinton, Lycoming57 min
May 23, 4:31 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPFranklin29 min
May 23, 4:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCentre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland and 3 more52 min
May 23, 5:00 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPLancaster30 min
May 23, 5:05 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPCumberland25 min
May 23, 5:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Juniata, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder54 min
May 23, 5:15 PM EDTTornado WarningCTPJuniata, Northumberland, Snyder30 min
May 23, 5:34 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPYork26 min
May 23, 5:38 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPDauphin22 min
May 23, 5:51 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPColumbia, Montour, Northumberland24 min
May 23, 6:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPColumbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan58 min
May 23, 6:08 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPLancaster37 min
May 23, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPDauphin, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder60 min
May 23, 6:16 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPLancaster44 min
May 23, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPLancaster, York34 min
May 23, 6:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSchuylkill48 min
May 23, 7:28 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementCTPSchuylkill32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2011Every tornado warning in 2011Tornadoes 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.