Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

July 18, 2012Fayette County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 18, 2012, 3:42 PM EDT for Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 2 hr. 2 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 18, 2012, 3:42 PM EDT (19:42 UTC)
Expired: Jul 18, 2012, 5:45 PM EDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Fayette County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:45 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 18, 3:59 PM EDT	FLASH FLOOD	Uniontown, PA	CONNELLSVILLE ST FLOODED
Jul 18, 4:00 PM EDT	FLASH FLOOD	Connellsville, PA	FLOODED BASEMENTS AND WATER ON ROADS

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

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 63 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: 1936 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1073 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 42 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.

580 
WGUS51 KPBZ 181942
FFWPBZ
PAC051-182145-
/O.NEW.KPBZ.FF.W.0007.120718T1942Z-120718T2145Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
342 PM EDT WED JUL 18 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 545 PM EDT

* AT 336 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF 
FAYETTE COUNTY CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO
AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. FLOOD WATER IS USUALLY DEEPER THAN
IT APPEARS...AND ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO
SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. MAKE THE SMART CHOICE...TURN AROUND...
DONT DROWN.

PLEASE REPORT HIGH WATER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING
TOLL FREE...1-877-633-6772.

LAT...LON 4008 7971 4006 7962 4009 7951 4011 7947
      4002 7932 3983 7944 3982 7984

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 18, 10:19 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson	56 min
Jul 18, 11:56 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Indiana	64 min
Jul 18, 1:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver, Washington	60 min
Jul 18, 1:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Butler, Lawrence	62 min
Jul 18, 1:25 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Clarion, Jefferson	65 min
Jul 18, 1:42 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Allegheny	63 min
Jul 18, 1:48 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PBZ	Beaver, Washington	6 hr
Jul 18, 1:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver, Washington	66 min
Jul 18, 2:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland	58 min
Jul 18, 2:10 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Butler	50 min
Jul 18, 2:21 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PBZ	Allegheny	3 hr
Jul 18, 2:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Westmoreland	66 min
Jul 18, 2:48 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Fayette	57 min
Jul 18, 2:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana, Westmoreland	64 min
Jul 18, 3:05 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PBZ	Fayette	3 hr
Jul 18, 3:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene, Washington	38 min
Jul 18, 3:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Indiana, Westmoreland	23 min
Jul 18, 3:50 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Greene	40 min
Jul 18, 4:04 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Lawrence	56 min
Jul 18, 4:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	29 min
Jul 18, 4:49 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PBZ	Greene	3 hr
Jul 18, 5:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	57 min
Jul 18, 5:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette, Greene, Washington	51 min
Jul 18, 5:32 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	PBZ	Greene	4 hr
Jul 18, 5:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene, Washington	24 min
Jul 18, 5:56 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Greene	34 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2012 Every flash flood warning in 2012

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.