Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

April 9, 2015Butler County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Apr 9, 2015, 6:22 PM EDT for Butler County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 23 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 9, 2015, 6:22 PM EDT (22:22 UTC)
Expired: Apr 9, 2015, 6:45 PM EDT
In force: 23 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated

County Butler County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:23 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 9, 6:35 PM EDT	NON-TSTM WND GST 37	1 Wsw Nixon, PA	AWOS STATION BUTLER /BTP/ NON-TSTM WND GST DURATION 6 HOURS.

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 9, 4:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 263 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: 466 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 54 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.

550 
WFUS51 KPBZ 092222
TORPBZ
PAC019-092245-
/O.NEW.KPBZ.TO.W.0002.150409T2222Z-150409T2245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
622 PM EDT THU APR 9 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BUTLER COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT
    
* AT 622 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED OVER MARS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  MERIDIAN AND NIXON AROUND 630 PM EDT.
  BUTLER...SAXONBURG...LERNERVILLE...MEADOWOOD AND OAK HILLS AROUND
  635 PM EDT.
  SARVER AROUND 640 PM EDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE EAST
BUTLER...CALLERY AND VALENCIA.

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 OUTDOORS...IN A
MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4067 8003 4075 8010 4094 7981 4072 7970
TIME...MOT...LOC 2222Z 241DEG 40KT 4072 8000 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...<.75

$$

34

1 follow-up statement

895 
WWUS51 KPBZ 092235
SVSPBZ

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
635 PM EDT THU APR 9 2015

PAC019-092245-
/O.CON.KPBZ.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-150409T2245Z/
BUTLER PA-
635 PM EDT THU APR 9 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 645 PM EDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN BUTLER COUNTY...
    
AT 635 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO
WAS LOCATED NEAR SAXONBURG...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

HAZARD...TORNADO. 

SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
         SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. DAMAGE 
         TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE DAMAGE IS 
         LIKELY. 

THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF
SOUTHEASTERN BUTLER COUNTY.

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 OUTDOORS...IN A
MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4073 7989 4080 7994 4089 7980 4072 7970
TIME...MOT...LOC 2235Z 241DEG 40KT 4081 7980 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...<.75IN

$$

34

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 9, 4:08 AM EDT	Flash Flood Watch	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland	32 hr
Apr 9, 4:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	37 min
Apr 9, 5:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Beaver, Lawrence	25 min
Apr 9, 5:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	28 min
Apr 9, 5:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, Washington	31 min
Apr 9, 5:35 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Lawrence	25 min
Apr 9, 5:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Greene	37 min
Apr 9, 5:46 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	PBZ	Fayette, Greene	29 min
Apr 9, 5:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Washington	34 min
Apr 9, 5:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Butler, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango	34 min
Apr 9, 6:09 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PBZ	Allegheny	3 hr
Apr 9, 6:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Fayette, Greene	33 min
Apr 9, 6:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and 1 more	28 min
Apr 9, 6:33 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PBZ	Greene	27 min
Apr 9, 6:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Armstrong, Butler, Fayette, Indiana, Jefferson, Westmoreland	32 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.