Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Special Weather Statements in 2015

Special Weather Statement, NWS State College, PA

August 4, 2015Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this special weather statement at Aug 4, 2015, 3:58 AM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 32 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 4, 2015, 3:58 AM EDT (07:58 UTC)
Expired: Aug 4, 2015, 4:30 AM EDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:01 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 149 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: 627 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1863 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

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What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this special weather statement went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this special weather statement went out at Aug 4, 3:34 AM EDT, 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 3:34 AM EDT, 24 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 3, 4:07 AM EDT, 23 hours 51 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
407 AM EDT MON AUG 3 2015

PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-040815-
WARREN-MCKEAN-POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-NORTHERN CLINTON-CLEARFIELD-
NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-CAMBRIA-BLAIR-HUNTINGDON-MIFFLIN-
JUNIATA-SOMERSET-BEDFORD-FULTON-FRANKLIN-TIOGA-NORTHERN LYCOMING-
SULLIVAN-SOUTHERN CLINTON-SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION-SNYDER-MONTOUR-
NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY-DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL-LEBANON-CUMBERLAND-
ADAMS-YORK-LANCASTER-
407 AM EDT MON AUG 3 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AS A COLD
FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. THE THREAT OF WIND DAMAGE IS GREATER
THAN THE THREAT FOR LARGE HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 2:26 AM EDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
226 AM EDT TUE AUG 4 2015

PAZ026-034>036-040700-
BEDFORD PA-FRANKLIN PA-FULTON PA-HUNTINGDON PA-
226 AM EDT TUE AUG 4 2015

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT BEDFORD...HUNTINGDON...
FRANKLIN...AND FULTON COUNTIES UNTIL 300 AM EDT...

AT 225 AM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR
FORT LITTLETON...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

50 MPH WIND GUSTS AND DIME SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

THIS STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  FANNETTSBURG AROUND 235 AM EDT.
  WILLOW HILL AROUND 240 AM EDT.
  ROXBURY AND UPPER STRASBURG AROUND 245 AM EDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE ORRSTOWN AND SHADE
GAP.

LAT...LON 3979 7816 4002 7838 4017 7814 4021 7761
      4020 7761 4019 7763 4014 7759 4013 7757
      4007 7755
TIME...MOT...LOC 0625Z 268DEG 45KT 4009 7801

KF

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 2:41 AM EDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
241 AM EDT TUE AUG 4 2015

PAZ036-063>066-040730-
CUMBERLAND PA-YORK PA-FRANKLIN PA-LANCASTER PA-ADAMS PA-
241 AM EDT TUE AUG 4 2015

...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...

AT 239 AM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A
LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR FARETTEVILLE TO MONT ALTO TO WAYNESBORO
...AND MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

50 MPH WIND GUSTS AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE
STORMS.

THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  SCOTLAND...GUILFORD AND FAYETTEVILLE AROUND 245 AM EDT.
  SHIPPENSBURG AROUND 250 AM EDT.
  ROUZERVILLE...WAYNE HEIGHTS AND WAYNESBORO AROUND 255 AM EDT.
  WALNUT BOTTOM AROUND 300 AM EDT.
  PINE GROVE FURNACE AND CARROLL VALLEY AROUND 305 AM EDT.
  ASPERS AROUND 310 AM EDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THESE STORMS INCLUDE ABBOTTSTOWN...
AIRVILLE...ARENDTSVILLE...BENDERSVILLE AND BIGLERVILLE.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING INTERSTATES...
 THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE FROM MILE MARKERS 235 TO 245.
 INTERSTATE 81 FROM MILE MARKERS 0 TO 30.
 INTERSTATE 83 FROM MILE MARKERS 0 TO 40.

LAT...LON 4002 7766 4023 7688 4018 7676 4012 7673
      4016 7669 4006 7654 3972 7623 3972 7774
TIME...MOT...LOC 0639Z 261DEG 35KT 4000 7763 3967 7773

GARTNER/KF

Local storm report, Aug 4, 3:11 AM EDT, 47 minutes before

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Local storm report, Aug 4, 3:38 AM EDT, 20 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Aug 4, 3:38 AM EDT, 20 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Aug 4, 3:58 AM EDT, 0 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 3, 11:13 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Mifflin	47 min
Aug 3, 11:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin	70 min
Aug 4, 12:08 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Perry	22 min
Aug 4, 12:25 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Dauphin, Perry	53 min
Aug 4, 1:02 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Schuylkill	58 min
Aug 4, 1:15 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Fulton	30 min
Aug 4, 1:54 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Cumberland	36 min
Aug 4, 1:59 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Franklin	31 min
Aug 4, 2:26 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Fulton	34 min
Aug 4, 2:41 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, York	49 min
Aug 4, 2:52 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Adams, York	83 min
Aug 4, 3:38 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Tioga	37 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Pennsylvania, 2015 Every special weather statement in 2015

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.