Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2015

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 88, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

July 9, 2015Berks County, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 2015, 6:35 PM EDT for Berks County, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 40 min. 3 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 9, 2015, 6:35 PM EDT (22:35 UTC)
Expired: Jul 9, 2015, 7:15 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Berks County, PA, Lehigh County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:37 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 9, 6:36 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Tilden Twp, PA	TREES DOWN... WIRES DOWN... DAMAGE TO BLUE MTN ACADEMY SCHOOL.
Jul 9, 6:36 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Tilden Twp, PA	TREES DOWN... WIRES DOWN... DAMAGE TO SCHOOL...TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR
Jul 9, 6:40 PM EDT	TORNADO	Tilden Twp, PA	* 1 INJ * EF-1 TORNADO WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 105 MPH CONFIRMED IN TILDEN TOWNSHIP. CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO THE BLUE MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

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
Jul 9, 4:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 217 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1091 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -2 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.

893 
WUUS51 KPHI 092235
SVRPHI
PAC011-077-092315-
/O.NEW.KPHI.SV.W.0088.150709T2235Z-150709T2315Z/

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
635 PM EDT THU JUL 9 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ  HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BERKS COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA...
  LEHIGH COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 715 PM EDT

* AT 634 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THIS STORM
  WAS LOCATED OVER ANCIENT OAKS...OR NEAR ALLENTOWN...AND MOVING EAST
  AT 50 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  ALLENTOWN...EMMAUS...KUTZTOWN...HAMBURG...SLATINGTON...FLEETWOOD...
  WOMELSDORF...NEWMANSTOWN...WALNUTPORT...TOPTON...LEESPORT...
  SHOEMAKERSVILLE...BERNVILLE...LYONS...STRAUSSTOWN...
  LENHARTSVILLE...NEW TRIPOLI...ZIONSVILLE...CLAUSSVILLE AND
  SCHNECKSVILLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND 
VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON 
THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS 
QUICKLY SO DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE. THIS IS A VERY
DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK SHELTER NOW INSIDE A STURDY STRUCTURE AND
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

&&

LAT...LON 4048 7641 4052 7631 4052 7625 4058 7605
      4057 7602 4064 7599 4079 7561 4076 7561
      4073 7557 4048 7543 4035 7620
TIME...MOT...LOC 2234Z 259DEG 49KT 4056 7557 

$$

GORSE/FRANCK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 9, 6:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Berks, Chester, Montgomery	45 min
Jul 9, 6:46 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PHI	Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton	4 hr
Jul 9, 6:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Chester	40 min
Jul 9, 6:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lehigh, Montgomery	48 min
Jul 9, 7:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Berks, Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton	48 min
Jul 9, 7:21 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PHI	Berks, Lehigh	4 hr
Jul 9, 7:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Chester, Delaware	46 min
Jul 9, 7:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia	66 min
Jul 9, 7:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia	40 min
Jul 9, 7:56 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	PHI	Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia	4 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2015 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.