Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 5, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1988, 8:17 AM CDT for Acadia Parish, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 58 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
- May 21, 1988, 8:17 AM CDT (13:17 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1988, 9:15 AM CDT
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Acadia Parish, LA, Lafayette 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 8:40 AM CDT | Hail 2 | Lafayette, 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
Boothville, LA (KBVE), launched 12:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 292 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
- 385 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -208 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 964 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 28 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 112 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
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, May 21, 5:41 AM CDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 525 AM CDT SAT MAY 21 1988 AT 5.25 AM A LINE...20 MILES WIDE...OF VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM JUST WEST OF GALVESTON NORTHEASTWARD TO THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF RAYBURN LAKE. THIS LINE WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 30 MPH...AND IT THIS CONTINUES IT WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA WITHIN THE NEXT TWO HOURS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO PRODUCED VERY STORNG GUSTY WINDS... HEAVY RAINS...AND SOME LOCAL FLOODING CAN ALSO OCCUR. ELSEWHERE...THUNDERSTORMS AND PATCHES OF RAIN WERE OCCURING IN THE LAKE CHARLES AREA AND ALSO ALONG THE COASTAL MARSHES BETWEEN CAMERON AND VERMILION BAY.
Special weather statement, May 21, 7:44 AM CDT, 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX 740 AM CDT SAT MAY 21 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT... THE LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVED THROUGH THE BEAUMONT...PORT ARTHUR...ORANGE AREA AROUND 6 AM CDT HAD MOVED EAST AND SOUTHEAST INTO LOUISIANA AND THE GULF WATERS BY 730 AM CDT. LW
The office that day
Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 7:54 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Calcasieu | 3 hr |
| May 21, 8:52 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LCH | Lafayette | 53 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.