Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 22, 1988, 7:50 PM CST for Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 55 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 22, 1988, 7:50 PM CST (01:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 22, 1988, 8:45 PM CST
- In force
- 55 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Vernon Parish, LA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 22, 8:35 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Vernon, LA |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 110 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 714 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 583 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 195 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 220 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 22, 7:31 PM CST, 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 728 PM CST THU DEC 22 1988 A LARGE THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS SHOWN BY THE LAKE CHARLES WEATHER RADAR 15 TO 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LEESVILLE. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF VERNON PARISH BY 730 PM. VERY STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING... VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORM AS IT MOVES ACROSS VERNON PARISH BETWEEN THE PRESENT TIME AND 830 PM CST THIS THURSDAY EVENING.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 22, 8:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Vernon | 32 min |
| Dec 22, 8:49 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Vernon | 26 min |
| Dec 22, 8:57 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Rapides | 48 min |
| Dec 22, 10:07 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Allen, Beauregard | 68 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.