Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1391

July 29, 20214 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jul 29, 2021, 4:26 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 94 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 29, 2021, 4:26 PM EDT (20:26 UTC)
Expired
Jul 29, 2021, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
94 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Tornado watch 401
All 35 counties

Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Cecil County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Frederick County, MD, Harford County, MD, Howard County, MD, Kent County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Burlington County, NJ, Camden County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Gloucester County, NJ, Hunterdon County, NJ, Mercer County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Somerset County, NJ, Warren County, NJ, Berks County, PA, Bucks County, PA, Carbon County, PA, Chester County, PA, Delaware County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Lehigh County, PA, Monroe County, PA, Montgomery County, PA, Northampton County, PA, Philadelphia County, PA, York County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:26 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 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 183 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2021-07-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 269 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2021-07-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
269 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-91 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
893 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

607 
ACUS11 KWNS 292027
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 292026 
NJZ000-PAZ000-DEZ000-MDZ000-292200-

Mesoscale Discussion 1391
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0326 PM CDT Thu Jul 29 2021

Areas affected...Southeastern PA...NJ...Northern VA...Central
MD...Delmarva

Concerning...Tornado Watch 401...

Valid 292026Z - 292200Z

The severe weather threat for Tornado Watch 401 continues.

SUMMARY...Threat for damaging wind gusts and/or brief tornadoes will
continue for the next few hours.

DISCUSSION...A large area of showers and thunderstorms continues to
move eastward across the northern Mid-Atlantic. Much of this
activity has remained shallow and transient. However, a few more
robust updrafts have been able to develop, including two which are
currently ongoing over MD, one over Carroll County MD and the other
over Howard County MD, and another over Lehigh County PA. Low to
mid-level rotation has been noted in each one of these storms,
suggesting the slightly stronger flow associated with this shortwave
trough (sampled well by recent LWX VAD profiles) coupled with the
southerly surface winds is enough to promote updraft rotation. This
current trend of transient updrafts capable of damaging wind gusts
and/or brief tornadoes will likely continue for the next few hours.

..Mosier.. 07/29/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...OKX...PHI...CTP...LWX...

LAT...LON   40877596 41147542 40787442 39667467 38997507 38787661
            39347758 40167678 40877596

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 2:23 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCKent, New Castle, Sussex8 hr
Jul 29, 11:58 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegany, Garrett2 hr
Jul 29, 1:21 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Frederick, Washington114 min
Jul 29, 3:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegany, Calvert, Charles, Dorchester, Garrett, Montgomery and 5 more6 hr
Jul 29, 7:09 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex and 2 more96 min
Jul 29, 3:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Clearfield and 6 more7 hr
Jul 29, 6:34 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Washington116 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Pennsylvania, 2021Mesoscale Discussions in Maryland, 2021Mesoscale Discussions in New Jersey, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.