Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 510

September 22, 202113 counties in Ohio; 17 counties in Pennsylvania; 7 counties in West Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 22, 2021, 2:23 PM EDT for 13 counties in Ohio; 17 counties in Pennsylvania; 7 counties in West Virginia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 22, 2021, 2:23 PM EDT (18:23 UTC)
Expired
Sep 22, 2021, 8:04 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 37 counties

Ashtabula County, OH, Belmont County, OH, Carroll County, OH, Columbiana County, OH, Geauga County, OH, Harrison County, OH, Jefferson County, OH, Lake County, OH, Mahoning County, OH, Monroe County, OH, Portage County, OH, Stark County, OH, Trumbull County, OH, Allegheny County, PA, Armstrong County, PA, Beaver County, PA, Butler County, PA, Clarion County, PA, Crawford County, PA, Erie County, PA, Fayette County, PA, Forest County, PA, Greene County, PA, Indiana County, PA, Jefferson County, PA, Lawrence County, PA, Mercer County, PA, Venango County, PA, Washington County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA, Brooke County, WV, Hancock County, WV, Marion County, WV, Marshall County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Ohio County, WV, Wetzel County, WV

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:24 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
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
50%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 22, 2:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMonroe27 min
Sep 22, 2:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEMahoning, Portage, Stark, Trumbull61 min
Sep 22, 3:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBelmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Noble, Tuscarawas26 min
Sep 22, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEAshtabula, Geauga, Portage, Trumbull65 min
Sep 22, 3:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBelmont, Monroe33 min
Sep 22, 3:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBelmont, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson32 min
Sep 22, 3:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBelmont, Harrison, Jefferson16 min
Sep 22, 3:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEAshtabula, Trumbull47 min
Sep 22, 4:17 PM EDTTornado WarningCLEAshtabula28 min
Sep 22, 5:43 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZArmstrong, Butler18 min
Sep 22, 6:04 PM EDTTornado WarningPBZButler, Venango12 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 79 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 12:00Z on 2021-09-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 155 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2021-09-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
155 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-120 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
634 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

667 
WWUS20 KWNS 221818
SEL0  
SPC WW 221818
OHZ000-PAZ000-WVZ000-LEZ000-230200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 510
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
220 PM EDT Wed Sep 22 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Eastern Ohio
  Western Pennsylvania
  Northern West Virginia
  Lake Erie

* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 220 PM
  until 1000 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms will intensify this afternoon along a cold
front over eastern Ohio, and track northeastward across the watch
area.  Locally damaging winds are the main threat with these storms,
although tornadoes are possible in the most intense cells.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles
east and west of a line from 20 miles west northwest of Erie PA to
30 miles west southwest of Morgantown WV. For a complete depiction
of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and 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.

&&

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 21035.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 22, 1:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Geauga, Guernsey and 11 more3 hr
Sep 22, 4:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning, Trumbull97 min
Sep 22, 6:13 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest and 5 more92 min
Sep 22, 2:44 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMonroe3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Pennsylvania, 2021Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2021Tornado Watches in West Virginia, 2021Every tornado 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.