Severe thunderstorms produced isolated wind damage and hail across portions of the lower Susquehanna Valley during the afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS CTP wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms produced isolated wind damage and hail across portions of the lower Susquehanna Valley during the afternoon.
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Aug 3, 12:34 PM EST, 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 134 PM EDT FRI AUG 3 2012 .SYNOPSIS... WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL DOMINATE THE WEATHER TODAY. A SOUTHWEST FLOW OF MORE HUMID AIR WILL DEVELOP FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE IN LATE SUNDAY OR EARLY MONDAY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY LATER SUNDAY INTO EARLY MONDAY. DRIER AIR IS EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH MIDWEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... TEMPS AT 1PM ARE REMARKABLY HOMOGENEOUS IN THE MID 80S. DEWPOINTS RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S IN THE NW TO LOW 70S OVER THE SE...WHERE A COUPLE OF SHOWERS/STORMS HAVE POPPED UP...VERY SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS DAYS. CAPES 2000-4000J AND MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES IN EXCESS OF 6C SUGGEST WE COULD SEE ISOLATED CONVECTION DEVELOP JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE...BUT IF PREVIOUS DAYS ARE AN INDICATOR...THE RIDGES OF THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WILL PRESENT THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES. SO FAR CELLS HAVE BEEN MOVING SLOWLY...ONLY ABOUT 5MPH. ANY STORMS THAT CAN MANAGE TO SUSTAIN FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR OR SO COULD DROP SOME DECENT RAINS. ACTIVITY WILL WANE WITH THE LOSS OF THE SUN LEADING TO A MAINLY DRY BUT HAZY OVERNIGHT. IT WILL BE RATHER MUGGY IN THE 60S AND 70S. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY/... COLD FRONT CURRENTLY SAGGING SOUTH WILL STALL ACROSS THE REGION AND PROVIDE INCREASING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/STORMS SATURDAY...AS IT BEGINS TO RETURN NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. SREF POPS RANGE FROM CHANCE OVER THE NORTH TO CATEGORICAL OVER THE SOUTH...PROBABLY TYPICALLY OVERDONE BY THE SREF. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WHICH ARE LIKELY TOO LOW...SO WILL EMPLOY A BLEND...LEADING TO CHANCE NUMBERS MAINLY FOR THE AFTERNOON. IT WILL BE ANOTHER WARM AND MORE HUMID DAY...WITH HIGHS AVERAGING IN THE 80S...TO LOWER 90S OVER SOME SERN ZONES. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... RELATIVELY WARM DAY SATURDAY WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER TO MID-TROPOSPHERE. THE PW VALUES COMING UP WILL RESULT IN HIGHER HUMIDITY AND SLOWLY INCREASING CHANCE OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. SUNDAY HAS THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR SOME RAINFALL AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AS A RIBBON OF HIGH PW WITH VALUES 48 TO 52MM MOVE IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST. PW ANOMALIES NEAR 3 SIGMA SUNDAY ASSOCIATED WITH RELATIVELY STRONG LOW LEVEL WINDS AND SHEAR. SREF AND GEFS CAPE VALUES ARE IN THE 1200-1800JKG-1. THIS IMPLIES A GOOD CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG CORES. THE 850 HPA WINDS...FROM THE SOUTH...ARE 2-4 SIGMA ABOVE NORMAL. THUS THERE IS GOOD LOW LEVEL BULK SHEAR WITH RESPECTABLE CAPE. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS A GOOD BET. PUT GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL IN GRIDS FOR NOW. BASED ON 850 HPA TEMPERATURES AND PW IN THE SREF/GEFS/GFS DRIER AIR WORKS IN SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. AS IS TYPICAL PROBABLY WILL HAVE SOME HUMIDITY STUCK IN BOUNDARY LAYER MONDAY AM SO MOST AIR CONDITIONERS WILL BE WORKING INTO MONDAY. BUT OVERALL LOWER PW AND COOLER AIR. PW ANOMALIES DROP BELOW NORMAL MONDAY DURING THE DAY WITH 850 HPA TEMPS IN THE 14C RANGE. THE 06Z GEFS SHOWS PW VALUES AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE INTO NEXT SATURDAY! THE 850 HPA TEMPS STAY NEAR NORMAL IN THE MAINLY IN THE MID-TEENS. THERE ARE SOME HINTS OF ABOVE NORMAL 850 HPA TEMPS PERHAPS ABOUT 1 SIGMA WED-THU. SHOULD BE MOSTLY DRY SEASONAL WEEK. && .AVIATION /17Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... PATCHY FOG HAS THINNED OUT TO A HAZE WITH MDT STILL HOLDING IN THE 3-5 MILE RANGE FOR VISIBILITY. THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY WILL BE HAZY AND BASICALLY FAIR WITH LOW END VFR/HIGH END MVFR VIZ ISSUES IN SOME AREAS. WITH A WEAK FRONT STALLED OUT OVER THE REGION...AND SOME RESPECTABLE INSTABILITY...A POP UP SHOWER OR STORM CANNOT BE RULED OUT. CHANCES OF HAVING ONE HIT A SITE WILL BE SMALL. OUTLOOK... .FRI...MAINLY VFR...BUT WITH DIURNAL CONVECTION POSSIBLY CAUSING LOCALIZED REDUCED CONDITIONS. .SAT-SUN...A BETTER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY SUNDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. .MON...CHC OF A SHOWER OR STORM EARLY...THEN MAINLY VFR. .TUES...NO SIG WX. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...LA CORTE NEAR TERM...LA CORTE SHORT TERM...LA CORTE LONG TERM...GRUMM/DEVOIR/MARTIN AVIATION...LA CORTE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 616 AM EDT FRI AUG 3 2012 PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-041030- WARREN-MCKEAN-POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-NORTHERN CLINTON-CLEARFIELD- NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-CAMBRIA-BLAIR-HUNTINGDON-MIFFLIN- JUNIATA-SOMERSET-BEDFORD-FULTON-FRANKLIN-TIOGA-NORTHERN LYCOMING- SULLIVAN-SOUTHERN CLINTON-SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION-SNYDER-MONTOUR- NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY-DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL-LEBANON-CUMBERLAND- ADAMS-YORK-LANCASTER- 616 AM EDT FRI AUG 3 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WARMER AND MORE HUMID AIR WILL ACCOMPANY A WARM FRONT AS IT PUSHES NORTH ACROSS THE REGION SATURDAY. SCATTERED STRONG TO POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS SATURDAY...MAINLY ACROSS THE ALLEGHENY PLATEAU OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG...TO POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM ALONG AND IN ADVANCE OF A POTENT COLD FRONT LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:01 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down numerous trees across Green Ridge Road just south of Hampton.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down a few trees west of Shippensburg along Cumberland Highway and near Orrstown.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down large branches and utility wires near Abbottstown.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down several trees just west of York Haven.
Trained spotter reported quarter size hail in Etters.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down multiple trees and utility wires in Goldsboro. A trained spotter measured 82 mph wind gust.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, August 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 390896, 390897, 390893, 390903, 390909, 390894, 390895, 390920.