Tornado Watch Issued for Centre County

The National Weather Service at State College has issued a tornado watch for a 43-county area of western and central Pennsylvania — including Centre County — on Saturday.

The watch is in effect until 8 p.m. and means tornados are possible in the designated area. A warning would be issued if a tornado is sighted or indicated by radar.

A short distance from Centre County, a radar-indicated tornado warning was issued for the Birmingham and Petersburg areas of Huntingdon County at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

For Centre County and the rest of the watch area, isolated hail up to the size of a quarter is possible and scattered wind gusts of 70 mph are likely, according to NWS.

Thunderstorms have passed through Centre County on Saturday, and a thunderstorm warning issued at 4:15 p.m. indicated a line of storms producing very heavy rain and wind gusts up to 60 mph that could damage roofs, siding and trees.

“Radar has indicated rotation within these severe thunderstorms,” the NWS wrote in the thunderstorm warning. “Although a tornado is not immediately likely, tornadoes can develop quickly during severe thunderstorms.”

Centre County is also under a flood watch until 2 a.m. on Sunday.

“Rainfall amounts of over 2 inches per hour are possible where thunderstorms train over the same location,” the NWS wrote. “This will lead to the threat of localized flash flooding, especially in poor drainage and low-lying areas in cities and towns, and along roads adjacent to small streams and creeks.”