Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 3, NWS State College, PA

April 20, 2015Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 2015, 8:10 PM EDT for Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 35 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: Apr 20, 2015, 8:10 PM EDT (00:10 UTC)
Expired: Apr 20, 2015, 8:45 PM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:10 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
Apr 20, 8:35 PM EDT	HAIL 1	Linglestown, PA

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.

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 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 154 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: 460 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1835 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

798 
WFUS51 KCTP 210010
TORCTP
PAC041-043-210045-
/O.NEW.KCTP.TO.W.0003.150421T0010Z-150421T0045Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...
  SOUTHERN DAUPHIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 845 PM EDT
    
* AT 809 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
  OVER WEST FAIRVIEW...AND MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HARRISBURG...LOWER ALLEN...HERSHEY...COLONIAL PARK...PROGRESS...
  CAMP HILL...NEW CUMBERLAND...LINGLESTOWN...ENOLA...LEMOYNE...
  HUMMELSTOWN...PAXTONIA...RUTHERFORD...SKYLINE VIEW...LAWNTON...
  WORMLEYSBURG...PENBROOK...PAXTANG...WEST FAIRVIEW AND HERSHEY PARK.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING INTERSTATES...
 INTERSTATE 81 NEAR MILE MARKER 60...AND FROM MILE MARKERS 66 TO 78.
 INTERSTATE 83 FROM MILE MARKERS 42 TO 50.

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.

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

&&

LAT...LON 4023 7696 4025 7700 4028 7700 4040 7671
      4027 7663
TIME...MOT...LOC 0009Z 251DEG 23KT 4027 7694 

$$

LAMBERT

1 follow-up statement

504 
WWUS51 KCTP 210027
SVSCTP

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

PAC041-210034-
/O.CAN.KCTP.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-150421T0045Z/
CUMBERLAND PA-

827 PM EDT MON APR 20 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN CUMBERLAND COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
    
THE TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED EAST 
AND OUT OF THE WARNED AREA...THEREFORE THE WARNING HAS BEEN 
CANCELLED.

LAT...LON 4028 7684 4029 7688 4032 7689 4040 7671
      4029 7664
TIME...MOT...LOC 0024Z 246DEG 25KT 4032 7681 

$$

PAC043-210045-
/O.CON.KCTP.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-150421T0045Z/
DAUPHIN PA-
827 PM EDT MON APR 20 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 845 PM EDT FOR CENTRAL
DAUPHIN COUNTY...
    
AT 824 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED OVER
PAXTONIA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... 
COLONIAL PARK...PROGRESS...LINGLESTOWN... PAXTONIA...SKYLINE 
VIEW...AND PENBROOK.

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.

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

&&

LAT...LON 4028 7684 4029 7688 4032 7689 4040 7671
      4029 7664
TIME...MOT...LOC 0024Z 246DEG 25KT 4032 7681 

$$

LAMBERT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 20, 8:08 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Blair, Centre, Huntingdon	3 hr
Apr 20, 8:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, Snyder and 1 more	56 min
Apr 20, 8:29 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Cumberland, Franklin, Perry	3 hr
Apr 20, 8:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Adams, Cumberland, Franklin	60 min
Apr 20, 8:43 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CTP	Dauphin, Lebanon	32 min
Apr 20, 8:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Lycoming, Sullivan	58 min
Apr 20, 8:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon, Northumberland, Perry and 2 more	66 min
Apr 20, 9:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CTP	Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill	60 min
Apr 20, 9:39 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Adams, Cumberland	36 min
Apr 20, 10:12 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Columbia, Lebanon, Schuylkill	33 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.