Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Special Weather Statements in 2020

Special Weather Statement, NWS State College, PA

August 4, 2020Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this special weather statement at Aug 4, 2020, 3:19 AM EDT for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 56 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, 2020, 3:19 AM EDT (07:19 UTC)
Expired: Aug 4, 2020, 4:15 AM EDT
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS State College, PA

County Lancaster County, PA

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:18 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 151 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: 89 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 889 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 140 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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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, 1:30 AM EDT, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 1:30 AM EDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 3, 7:20 PM EDT, 7 hours 59 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 3:19 AM EDT, 0 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service State College PA
319 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020

PAZ066-040815-
Lancaster PA-
319 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020

...A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT PARTS OF LANCASTER
COUNTY UNTIL 415 AM EDT...

At 316 AM EDT, Doppler radar indicated a cluster of strong
thunderstorms over Conowingo, moving north at 30 mph.

Wind gusts 40 to 45 mph are possible.

Locations impacted include...
Lancaster, Ephrata, Lititz, Millersville, Willow Street, New Holland,
Manheim, East Petersburg, Akron, Leola, Paradise,
Salunga-Landisville, Rothsville, Strasburg, Quarryville, Gap, Terre
Hill, Wakefield, Churchtown and Leacock.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may
lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through
flooded roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3972 7624 3977 7627 3983 7634 4019 7641
      4014 7587 4010 7594 4004 7594 3996 7599
      3987 7599 3985 7602 3981 7603 3980 7605
      3976 7606 3976 7608 3973 7610 3974 7611
      3972 7614
TIME...MOT...LOC 0716Z 175DEG 26KT 3968 7619

Martin

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 4, 8:39 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lancaster	36 min
Aug 4, 8:55 AM EDT	River Flood Warning	CTP	Lancaster, York	7 hr
Aug 4, 9:37 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Lancaster, Lebanon, York	4 hr
Aug 4, 9:55 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Lancaster	65 min
Aug 4, 10:30 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CTP	Lancaster, York	4 hr
Aug 4, 1:18 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CTP	Schuylkill	57 min
Aug 4, 1:56 PM EDT	Areal Flood Warning	CTP	Lancaster	3 hr
Aug 4, 7:08 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Juniata	52 min
Aug 4, 7:11 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CTP	Schuylkill	49 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Pennsylvania, 2020 Every special weather statement in 2020

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.