Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 2, NWS State College, PA

April 20, 2015Cumberland County, Perry County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 2015, 7:21 PM EDT for Cumberland County, Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 54 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: Apr 20, 2015, 7:21 PM EDT (23:21 UTC)
Expired: Apr 20, 2015, 8:15 PM EDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Cumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:22 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 20, 3:08 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 152 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 694 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 205 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.

749 
WFUS51 KCTP 202321
TORCTP
PAC041-099-210015-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0002.150420T2321Z-150421T0015Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
721 PM EDT MON APR 20 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  SOUTHEASTERN PERRY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 815 PM EDT
    
* AT 721 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
  NEAR PLAINFIELD...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HARRISBURG...CARLISLE...LOWER ALLEN...MECHANICSBURG...CAMP HILL...
  NEW CUMBERLAND...ENOLA...LEMOYNE...PLAINFIELD...SCHLUSSER...BOILING
  SPRINGS...WORMLEYSBURG...MARYSVILLE...SHIREMANSTOWN...DUNCANNON...
  NEWVILLE...WEST FAIRVIEW...NEW KINGSTOWN...HOGESTOWN AND CARLISLE
  SPRINGS.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING INTERSTATES...
 THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE FROM MILE MARKERS 211 TO 238.
 INTERSTATE 81 FROM MILE MARKERS 38 TO 65.
 INTERSTATE 83 FROM MILE MARKERS 40 TO 42.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT TAKE SHELTER UNDER HIGHWAY OVERPASSES. IF YOU
CANNOT SAFELY DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO...AS A LAST RESORT...EITHER
PARK YOUR VEHICLE AND STAY PUT...OR ABANDON YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE DOWN
IN A LOW LYING AREA AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4021 7746 4045 7704 4041 7701 4039 7703
      4037 7702 4036 7701 4036 7695 4032 7691
      4029 7692 4027 7691 4023 7686 4021 7688
      4022 7690 4021 7691 4020 7693 4013 7738
TIME...MOT...LOC 2321Z 239DEG 23KT 4019 7733 

$$

LAMBERT

1 follow-up statement

498 
WWUS51 KCTP 202345
SVSCTP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
745 PM EDT MON APR 20 2015

PAC041-099-210015-
/O.CON.KCTP.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-150421T0015Z/
CUMBERLAND PA-PERRY PA-
745 PM EDT MON APR 20 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 PM EDT FOR
NORTHEASTERN CUMBERLAND AND EAST CENTRAL PERRY COUNTIES...
    
AT 744 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR NEW
KINGSTOWN...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  NEW KINGSTOWN AROUND 750 PM EDT.
  MECHANICSBURG...SHIREMANSTOWN...HOGESTOWN AND WERTZVILLE AROUND 800
PM EDT.
  HARRISBURG...LOWER ALLEN...CAMP HILL...NEW CUMBERLAND...ENOLA...
LEMOYNE...WORMLEYSBURG...MARYSVILLE AND WEST FAIRVIEW AROUND 810 PM
EDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE CITY
ISLAND.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT TAKE SHELTER UNDER HIGHWAY OVERPASSES. IF YOU
CANNOT SAFELY DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO...AS A LAST RESORT...EITHER
PARK YOUR VEHICLE AND STAY PUT...OR ABANDON YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE DOWN
IN A LOW LYING AREA AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

TORNADOES ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE AND CONFIRM AT NIGHT. DO NOT
WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

LAT...LON 4027 7722 4041 7704 4041 7701 4039 7703
      4037 7702 4036 7701 4036 7695 4032 7691
      4029 7692 4027 7691 4023 7686 4021 7688
      4022 7690 4021 7691 4020 7693 4016 7716
      4020 7719
TIME...MOT...LOC 2344Z 254DEG 24KT 4022 7712 

$$

LAMBERT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 20, 3:20 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean	25 min
Apr 20, 3:47 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean	28 min
Apr 20, 4:49 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Clearfield	41 min
Apr 20, 4:52 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lebanon	38 min
Apr 20, 5:00 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Franklin, Fulton	45 min
Apr 20, 5:15 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Cambria, Clearfield	60 min
Apr 20, 5:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Bedford	65 min
Apr 20, 5:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cambria, Clearfield, Elk	62 min
Apr 20, 5:42 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean	33 min
Apr 20, 6:18 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Blair	42 min
Apr 20, 6:22 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	McKean	38 min
Apr 20, 6:23 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Perry	52 min
Apr 20, 6:30 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Huntingdon	30 min
Apr 20, 6:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Blair, Centre, Huntingdon	59 min
Apr 20, 6:48 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, Somerset	57 min
Apr 20, 6:48 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Cumberland, Franklin	42 min
Apr 20, 7:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre, Clinton, Lycoming	58 min
Apr 20, 7:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Bedford	66 min
Apr 20, 7:19 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Potter	41 min
Apr 20, 7:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Blair, Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin	54 min
Apr 20, 7:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Union	53 min
Apr 20, 7:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Fulton, Huntingdon	58 min
Apr 20, 7:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Clinton, Lycoming	65 min
Apr 20, 7:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Potter, Tioga	42 min
Apr 20, 7:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Perry	64 min
Apr 20, 7:58 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Centre	3 hr
Apr 20, 7:58 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Cambria	32 min
Apr 20, 7:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry	61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes 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.