Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 330

June 30, 20214 counties in Maryland; 9 counties in Pennsylvania; 5 counties in West Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 30, 2021, 4:51 PM EDT for 4 counties in Maryland; 9 counties in Pennsylvania; 5 counties in West Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 30, 2021, 4:51 PM EDT (20:51 UTC)
Expired
Jun 30, 2021, 8:14 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Allegany County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Washington County, MD, Adams County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Perry County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, York County, PA, Berkeley County, WV, Hampshire County, WV, Jefferson County, WV, Mineral County, WV, Morgan County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:52 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
5%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
40%

Warnings issued inside it

5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 30, 4:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAllegany, Washington21 min
Jun 30, 5:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHampshire, Morgan34 min
Jun 30, 5:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPFranklin, Fulton48 min
Jun 30, 5:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXBerkeley, Morgan23 min
Jun 30, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPCumberland48 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 2021-06-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 40 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 2021-06-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -26 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
40 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-217 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1553 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

316 
WWUS20 KWNS 302045
SEL0  
SPC WW 302045
MDZ000-PAZ000-VAZ000-WVZ000-010200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 330
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
445 PM EDT Wed Jun 30 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Northern Maryland
  South central Pennsylvania
  Extreme northern Virginia
  The eastern West Virginia Panhandle

* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 445 PM
  until 1000 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...A couple of storm clusters may persist and spread
east-northeastward through this evening, along an immediately
southeast of an outflow boundary approaching southern Pennsylvania. 
The storm environment favors occasional downbursts with wind damage.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 40
statute miles north and south of a line from 30 miles east northeast
of Harrisburg PA to 40 miles south southwest of Altoona PA. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 326...WW 327...WW
328...WW 329...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
26020.

...Thompson

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 30, 4:41 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard and 2 more2 hr
Jun 30, 6:58 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Frederick, Montgomery92 min
Jun 30, 11:30 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cambria and 23 more2 hr
Jun 30, 11:47 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Fayette and 9 more7 hr
Jun 30, 12:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBedford, Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield and 20 more7 hr
Jun 30, 2:16 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Wayne and 1 more119 min
Jun 30, 3:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBerks, Bradford, Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne and 6 more7 hr
Jun 30, 3:29 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre and 16 more2 hr
Jun 30, 4:48 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLackawanna, Susquehanna, Wayne87 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Pennsylvania, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in West Virginia, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Maryland, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.