A wildfire developed in Millstone Township, Elk County during the afternoon of April 12, 2023 and continued into April 15. The fire was entirely on Allegheny National Forest land, and over 400 acres burned.
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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.
A wildfire developed in Millstone Township, Elk County during the afternoon of April 12, 2023 and continued into April 15. The fire was entirely on Allegheny National Forest land, and over 400 acres burned. One firefighter was injured while fighting the fire.
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 Apr 12, 12:43 PM EST, 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 143 PM EDT Wed Apr 12 2023 .SYNOPSIS... The early-mid April warm surge continues through late week with June-like warmth and record challenging temperatures Thursday and Friday. The next chance for rain will be on Saturday with a few rain showers and a thunderstorm possible mainly in the afternoon. A strong cold front will bring rain on Sunday followed by a significant cooldown into early next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... RH forecast at the sfc continues to be challenging, as they have risen quite a bit from morning mins (quite the opposite of what normally happens - morning RH is usually higher). Dewpoints have changed/risden mainly due to the mixing process itself, with a layer of slightly higher moisture aloft being mixed in recently. However, we expect the Td to level off soon, or even dip a deg or two this aftn as we mix higher and tap a layer of much drier air higher aloft. One patch of lower clouds is strafing the nrn tier, but deep dry air is going to allow mixing to 5-6kft this aftn. There could be a few more cu pop up, mainly in the wrn highlands. But, we're not posting a Cloud Watch just yet. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... Fair and increasingly warm to summer-like conditions expected through late week with no precipitation. Max temps in the mid-upper 70s across the western and northern mtns to the low-mid 80s in the central/eastern ridges and valleys will challenge daily high temperature records with departures from climo on the order of +20 to +30 degrees (see climate section for more info). Lows should drop back a few to several degrees cooler Thursday night in the upper 40s to low 50s, but still +10-20F above climo. MinT bounces higher Friday night which could set the stage for a few record max-mins. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Medium range models continue to suggest a cut off upper low lifting north across PA next Saturday. The combination of low level moisture, diurnal heating, and upper level diffluence ahead of this feature should support scattered showers and possible thunderstorms in the afternoon/evening hours Saturday. Model sounding profiles show long, skinny CAPE and weak steering flow, so there is the potential that there could be a few heavier downpours Saturday afternoon. Medium range guidance suggests an upstream trough (and associated cold front) will arrive late Sunday PM. Forcing along the front, coupled with ample PWAT support widespread convection Sunday PM. Some models suggest a later arrival, which could limit the potential of convection throughout central PA. A cutoff low will drift slowly across southern Ontario and Quebec early next week with much cooler air rotating around the low across PA. This will support a return to more spring like weather with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 30s to 40s. A couple of showers will also be possible, mainly across the north and west. It's not out of the question that a couple of wet snowflakes mix in over the higher elevations. && .AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Wind has picked up right on schedule. No changes necessary to the going TAFs with widespread VFR. Prev... VFR conditions will continue into at least Friday, with just some mid and high clouds at times. Marginal LLWS this morning will last until about 14-15z. After that, daytime heating will help the PBL grow deeper and mechanically mix down more momentum from aloft in the form of westerly wind gusts up to 25 kts. Gusts will diminish a bit once again tonight, creating the potential for marginal LLWS once again into early Thursday morning, mainly across the northern airfields. Outlook... Thu-Friday...VFR. Breezy again on Wed with sfc gusts 15-25kts from ~280 degrees. Sat...A chance of showers, mainly late. Sun...Showers likely, especially late. && .FIRE WEATHER... Low humidity and windy conditions will result in an expectation of rapid wildfire spread this afternoon. 10-hour fuel moisture will be below 10 percent in most areas. PA fire manager partners have agreed that they were OK with a RFW for today, and we have issued it for the entire area. RH will be close as they are rising just slightly this morning. Mixing should keep them steady this aftn, or perhaps dip just a deg or two. Min RH should hit 30pct, but barely. Low humidity pattern will continue Thursday and Friday, but the wind will be lighter which should reduce wildfire spread risk enough that another RFW is not expected. No precipitation is forecast until Saturday with a few rain showers and a thunderstorm possible. && .CLIMATE... Record highs in jeopardy for Thursday 4/13 and Friday 4/14: Harrisburg 85/1945 | 89/1941 Williamsport 85/2018 | 84/1960 Altoona 85/2018 | 87/2018 State College 83/2014 | 84/2018 Bradford 78/1977 | 77/1968 && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for PAZ004>006- 010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066. && SYNOPSIS...Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Dangelo/Steinbugl SHORT TERM...Steinbugl/Banghoff LONG TERM...Fitzgerald/Travis/NPB AVIATION...Dangelo/Colbert FIRE WEATHER...Dangelo CLIMATE...Steinbugl
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service State College PA 318 AM EDT Wed Apr 12 2023 PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-130730- 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- 318 AM EDT Wed Apr 12 2023 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Fire Weather Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. MRS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire developed in Millstone Township, Elk County during the afternoon of April 12, 2023 and continued into April 15. The fire was entirely on Allegheny National Forest land, and over 400 acres burned. One firefighter was injured while fighting the fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, April 2023
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: 1080916.