Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2020

Flash Flood Warning 20, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

July 23, 2020Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 23, 2020, 8:22 PM EDT for Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 113 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 2020, 8:22 PM EDT (00:22 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 2020, 10:15 PM EDT
In force
113 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Westmoreland County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:22 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 nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 55 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2020-07-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1208 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2020-07-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 34 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1208 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
632 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 23, 3:49 PM EDT, 4 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 3:49 PM EDT, 4 hours 33 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
349 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

.SYNOPSIS...
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue to plague the
region into Friday. Dry and warmer weather can be expected for the
weekend.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/...
No major changes were needed for tonights forecast as scattered
convection will continue to plague the Upr OH as a longwave
trough/weak cdfnt slide toward the area. An isolated severe threat in
the form of a damaging gust remains possible given a cooling swath of
dry air in the mid levels, but deep layer shear is weak and overall
mid level temperature remains sufficient warm to impede updraft
strength.

Areas that clear tonight with progress of the trough/front may
experience fog dvlpmnt given rainfall and lingering boundary layer
moisture.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY/...
The frontal boundary moving through areas southeast of PIT will
become more diffuse and weaker with progress; hence, will some
showers are possible in that area with limited instability. Building
high pressure will keep the remainder of the area dry with seasonable
temperature.

That high pressure will maintain dry weather for the weekend, but
with rising heights, temperature will increase above the calculated
normals cumulating in readings almost 10 degrees above by Sunday.

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
Models then indicate the encroachment of a strong shortwave for
Monday and Tuesday. That system will bring the next strong
thunderstorm threat for next week and will moderate temperature back
toward the averages.

&&

.AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Scattered convection will continue to plague the Upr OH as a
longwave trough/weak cdfnt slide over the area tonight. Scattered
restrictions will then give way to areas of fog and stratus with
passage of the front.

Building high pressure will improve condition through Friday.

.Outlook...
High pres wl maintain VFR for the weekend.

&&

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...None.
OH...None.
PA...None.
WV...None.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 23, 1:12 PM EDT, 7 hours 10 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
112 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029-031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021-509>514-241715-
Garrett-Tuscarawas-Carroll-Columbiana-Coshocton-Harrison-
Jefferson OH-Muskingum-Guernsey-Belmont-Noble-Monroe-Mercer-Venango-
Forest-Lawrence-Butler-Clarion-Jefferson PA-Beaver-Allegheny-
Armstrong-Indiana-Washington-Greene-Westmoreland-Westmoreland Ridges-
Fayette-Fayette Ridges-Hancock-Brooke-Ohio-Marshall-Wetzel-Marion-
Monongalia-Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-
Preston-Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker-
112 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for western Maryland, east
central Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania, southwest Pennsylvania,
western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and the northern
panhandle of West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Marginal risk for severe thunderstorms this evening. The main threat
will be damaging wind gusts. Thunderstorms will also produce heavy
downpours which could lead to localized flooding.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 23, 3:11 PM EDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 23, 3:31 PM EDT, 4 hours 51 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
331 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

PAZ021-073-232000-
Westmoreland-Allegheny-
331 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

...AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WIND
WILL AFFECT NORTHEASTERN ALLEGHENY AND NORTHWESTERN WESTMORELAND
COUNTIES...

At 331 PM EDT, strong thunderstorms were clustered over Wilkinsburg,
or near Pittsburgh, moving east at 15 mph.

Wind gusts up to 45 mph are possible with this storm.

Locations impacted include...
Pittsburgh...                     Penn Hills...
Ross Township...                  Monroeville...
McKeesport...                     Shaler Township...
Plum...                           West Mifflin...
Baldwin...                        Murrysville...
Wilkinsburg...                    New Kensington...

This includes the following highways...
  Pennsylvania Turnpike between mile markers 45 and 63.
  Interstate 376 in Pennsylvania between mile markers 71 and 84.

LAT...LON 4034 7995 4051 8003 4065 7967 4038 7956
TIME...MOT...LOC 1931Z 250DEG 13KT 4045 7991
Special weather statement, Jul 23, 4:04 PM EDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
404 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

PAZ021-022-073-232030-
Armstrong-Westmoreland-Allegheny-
404 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2020

...AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WIND
AND HEAVY RAIN WILL AFFECT NORTHEASTERN ALLEGHENY...NORTHWESTERN
WESTMORELAND AND SOUTHWESTERN ARMSTRONG COUNTIES...

At 404 PM EDT, strong thunderstorms were clustered over New
Kensington, or near Penn Hills, moving east at 20 mph.

Wind gusts up to 45 mph are possible with this storm.

Locations impacted include...
Penn Hills...                     Vandergrift...
Apollo...                         Plum...
Murrysville...                    Hampton Township...
New Kensington...                 Lower Burrell...
Harrison Township...              O'hara Township...
Oakmont...                        Fox Chapel...

This includes  Pennsylvania Turnpike between mile markers 41 and 53.

Torrential rainfall also is occurring with this storm and may cause
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

LAT...LON 4047 7984 4059 7994 4067 7971 4067 7969
      4068 7969 4073 7955 4051 7946
TIME...MOT...LOC 2004Z 251DEG 17KT 4055 7975

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 9:23 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryPBZIndiana112 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2020Every flash flood warning 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.